


Bloody Mary

by Silph13



Category: Luigi's Mansion (Video Games), Super Mario & Related Fandoms
Genre: Element Bending - Freeform, F/M, King Boo x Reader, Romance, Slow Burn, Torture
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-06
Updated: 2021-02-05
Packaged: 2021-03-09 22:02:19
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 23
Words: 53,015
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27923491
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Silph13/pseuds/Silph13
Summary: I need to keep up with him.I... can't... stop...~~~I could have never imagine how quickly my life would change. Everything is different now. All because of a marriage proposal. Although I never thought that I would be marrying King Boo.Disclaimer: almost all characters, including King Boo, belong to Nintendo. This is a fan fiction, most of it won't be canon to the original story.
Relationships: King Boo/Reader, Professor E. Gadd/Luigi/Mario
Comments: 4
Kudos: 19





	1. Y/N

Thanks for reading!

So y/n isn't going to meet King Boo quite yet. I just need to set up the world first and get you guys used to the situation. 

~~~

*Crack*

Another flash of pain. My vision starts to fade.

"Twenty-five." 

I bit into the leather strap that they forced into my mouth as i focus to stay conscious. Ready for the next lash.

*Crack*

I gripped the wood pole that they chained me too as the burning whip creates another deep gash in my back.

"Twenty-six." 

I've already passed out twice, but they just poured salt water on me to wake me up and continued from where they left off.

*Crack*

"Twenty-seven."

I looked out to the crowd. I needed to see who actually believed this bullshit.

I saw so many faces. Some with looks of pity, others with sadness. I glance to the front of the crowd where They stood. They both had the most sadistic smirk I've ever seen. They look so satisfied with themselves. As if nothing could bring them down, little do They kn-

*Crack*

"AGH!" I scream.

"Twenty-nine."

Shit! I got distracted. I pulled on my restraints. I can't do that. I can't give Them the satisfaction of me in pain. I glance back at Them and see Their smirks growing in delight.

*Crack*

"Thirty." Finally.

Emmanuel undid my chains and went to keep me from falling.

"Stop." He yelled. "Let her get up on her own."

I glance up at Emmanuel. He looks hesitant. I just gave him a small nod and he stepped back.

I grabbed the log that I was chained to and tried to pull myself up. I could feel the hot blood running down my back. I felt the searing pain only get worse the more I used my back muscles. I look back at Them and hold my head high.

This is supposed to show that They can break me down. I can't let them win anymore than I already have. With my right hand, I grab hold of the place I dug my fingers in not two minutes ago. With my left hand, I hold up the weak fabric I call a shirt to cover my chest. Without breaking eye contact, I lifted myself off the ground and into a standing position. Pain rushed though every inch of my body but all I let out was a small grunt. Barely audible. 

I lean to the pole and use it as a crutch as I watch the amusement drain from Their faces and turn into shock. Then anger. The crowd however, their faces turn to joy and delight. Then neutral before They see. 

"Take her away." He screams.

I smirk as two RPUs grab my chains and lead me to the dungeons. I look up at the sign as some people in the crowd throw trash and scream at me. 

What year do we live in? 1658? I sigh. Wouldn't it just be easier to call it a jail?

A drunk man throws a glass beer bottle at me. I saw it arch and hit the one RPU on the shoulder and shatter. I hiss in pain as glass shards and alcohol spill on my ribboned back. 

The door to the dungeons opens and I'm pushed inside and led to my cell. As I walk down the halls I look around and get a feel for the ground and which direction their taking me. Suddenly I hear a high pitch inhuman scream. I look down the hall that seemed to be where the scream came from. 

So many doors. This place isn't even that big! I can't feel any vibrations at all. The Earth's silent.

Finally, we reached my cell. Looks just like all the others. Large steel door with metal plates all around the inside. Not even a bed. All that's inside is a small toilet that looks like it hasn't been cleaned in years. 

I look at my cell with disdain as the RPUs shove me in. I fall to the ground in a heap as my back aches. I can feel more blood gushing out of my lashes as I hear the door close behind me. I crawl to the wall and lean against it. I close my eyes to just try and sleep.

After a few minutes, I feel someone walking down the hall towards my cell. Emmanuel. I open my eyes and watch the door. As it opens to reveal Emmanuel with a first aid kit in hand.

"Hey, Y/N." 

"Manny." I manage to croak out.

"You doing alright?" He asked as he moved towards me.

"I just got thirty lashes for an accusation of treason, how do you thing I'm doing?" I sigh. "I'll be okay. I mean, you are here to patch me up, right?"

"Yeah, I just wish that I didn't have too." He makes his way around me to get to my back. "Y/N, you really need to be more careful."

"And I have been. Believe me, treason isn't the real reason why I have these lashes on my back." He doesn't respond. 

"How does it look back there?" I ask. 

"Standard for whip lashes. Swelling, some bruising, and a whole lot of blood." He says as he takes a rag and pours hydrogen peroxide on it. "This might sting a little."

"Bring it." I respond.

Emmanuel takes the rag and starts dabbing my wounds lightly. It stings just a little but it goes away very quickly.

"You said that they falsely accused you, Y/N. Why? What did you actually do?" Emmanuel asked.

I sigh. "Well, I refused to-" I start.

Great, I can feel Them coming this way.

"Y/N?"

"They're coming." I say.

Emmanuel doesn't say anything else and continues to clean my lashes. Just as he finishes with cleaning them. They walk into the cell.

"Hello there, Y/N." He says. I just glare at him. 

"Aw. Not saying anything?" He asks. "Come on, you can greet someone better than that." He grabbed my chin, forcing me to look up at him. "Say my name, wrench!"

"Daniel." I whisper.

"I can't hear you." His grip tightens.

"Daniel." I yell.

"Good. Now what about my son? We can't leave him out." Daniel smirks.

"Henry." I say.

"About time you accepted my presence in your life." Henry chuckled.

I could feel Emmanuel pinch my skin as I growl at Daniel and Henry.

"Now, Y/N. Have you reconsidered our offer?" Daniel questions. "And before you answer, you know that there will be consequences to your refusal."

"Harsh, consequences." adds Henry.

I grunt as Emmanuel starts to stitch up my back. They take it as a hesitation.

"Y/N. We're waiting."

I take a deep breath. "Why are you doing this? Why is it so important to you that you need to threaten my family's and my own life?" I try to buy some time for Manny. Daniel just looks at me unimpressed. He looks like he's debating whether or not to tell me.

"Emmanuel," says Daniel as Manny looks up at him, pausing his work. "I want you to leave thi-"

"Father." Henry cuts him off. Henry leans towards Daniel and whispers into his ear. Manny continues to work on my back. I can just make out what Henry is saying.

"I don't want my future wife to die of blood lose. Emmanuel can prevent that. Let him stay." Whispers Henry.

Daniel nods and speaks. "Keep working, Emmanuel. But," Emmanuel looks up from his work. "say anything to anyone outside of this cell and you'll be the next one on the whipping post. Am I clear?" Daniel finishes. Emmanuel nodded and kept working.

Daniel turns to me. "You really want to know, don't you?" I nod. "And you're not going to answer my question until you get your answer?" I nod again. 

Daniel sighs. "Fine, you'll get your answer."

"My son, Henry, needs to have an heir. The people need an heir." Daniel looks to me, searching for a reaction.

"I want the most beautiful, talented, Plant Master there is." Henry speaks up. "You fit that description perfectly."

"You are one of the most powerful plant master we have ever seen." Daniel continues. "You were just thirteen when you grew the Ice Flower. And in record time might I add." He smiled. "You alone helped us increase our trade with the Mushroom Kingdom and Princess Peach."

"So?" I ask.

"That means that our son will be the most powerful Plant Master." Henry replies. "Not to mention, any child of ours will be the most handsome devils in the country."

"That doesn't justify threatening my family!" I yell at them.

"You never asked for a justification. You just wanted to know why we did it." Henry laughs.

"Anyway," Daniel continues. "Now we want your answer, Y/N."

I can feel Emmanuel finishing up some stitches. It feels like he's only gotten to around half of them. That'll have to do. I can't even imagine how bad my back must look.

I open my mouth and spit in their faces. "Go. To. Hell."

I feel a sting on my cheek. My vision goes blurry and I'm suddenly facing the right.

He slapped me!

"Emmanuel. Finish stitching her up then leave." Daniel turns to Manny.

"Father! She just spat at us! Why are you letting her heal?" asks Henry. 

How can Henry not know what's going to happen next?

"Patience, son. This wrench will get what's coming to her." says Daniel. "Now, we can't have a public execution if she dies in this cell."

I freeze. I knew it was coming but, public?

"Well then, we'll see you tomorrow, Y/N. May King Boo go easy on you." Daniel snickers as both him and his spawn leave my cell. I just stared off at them. I feel Manny hit the back of my head.

"What. Were. You. Thinking?!" Manny yelled. "If you just said 'no' then you might stay alive!"

"I did say no. Multiple times. This wouldn't have changed anything." I respond calmly. "You almost done back there or are you going to keep hitting me and telling me how much of a dumb ass I am?"

"I'm getting pretty close." Manny sighs. "But what do you mean that it wouldn't have changed anything?"

"I mean that what happened today will just happen again tomorrow." He freezes. "I won't be able to survive another whipping." I continue.

Silence. That's it. We just sit in silence until Manny's done.

"Alright, done. I'll check on you at lunch, okay?" Manny says sadly.

"Yeah, see you later."

"Hey, I just thought I'd let you know but..." he hesitates. 

"Yes?"

"...He didn't threaten or say you're family's going to be executed because they can't find them." I don't move. "Their completely off the grid."

"Thanks. Glad to know that they wont have to see me." I smile 

Good, they're out. Now I have nothing to worry about here.

"Bye, Y/N."

"Bye."


	2. King Boo

Sorry, I forgot to mention that the events in this book take place after the Dark Moon. Like, right after.

~~~

"Damn it!" I look around this little containment chamber that measly little professor created. "How could this happen again?"

The containment chamber is just metal. No entrance and no exit for that matter. The metal is lined with salt. Completely ghost proof. The only thing that is remotely different is the circular window that those three imbeciles can look through and mock me. I just hope that my Boos are safe. My council will look after my subjects but the question is, how well can they do it.

My crown! Where is my crown!? I look around the floor of the containment chamber until I see a glint of gold in the corner. I fly over to it and pick it up. What is a King without his crown? I scold myself as I replace my crown on my head.

Someone is tapping on the glass. I turn towards the glass and float over. Ugh, it's that idiotic professor. I role my eyes.

"Why, hello there, Your Majesty." He says.

"Release me, you foolish mortal." I demand

"Why should I? All you've ever done is try to kill Mario, Luigi, and myself. And," He lifts a finger. "You've also conspired with King Koopa to kidnap Princess Peach. Even a King must face the consequences of this actions."

"Normally, I would agree with you. I do believe that everyone must face consequences. What you don't understand, old man, is that the same goes for you and those plumbers too." 

"What is that supposed mean?"

"It means. You've imprisoned, fought, and hurt my subjects simply because they are Boos. And for your information," I stop the professor before he can get another word our. "I terminated the deal between King Koopa's and my kingdom years ago. We do not support one another in any way shape or form anymore."

"Than why, for the past year when the Princess was kidnapped, did Luigi and I run into multiple haunted mansions with Boos trying to hurt us?" Great, the plumbers have entered the chat. Just my luck.

"I can't move mansions, Mario. No spirit can." 

"Doesn't mean that you didn't order your Boos to occupy those mansions to stop us." argued Mario.

"If my Boos moved in there then that's they're decision. I don't govern where every Boo goes every second of every day. And it's you're own fault for walking into that mansion." I roll my eyes. "There wasn't any blockade of Boos keeping you from moving on, correct?"

Little Red opens his mouth but no sound comes out. All I can do is smirk at his stupidity.

"What about what you did h-here? To the Dark Moon and your own subjects..?" Luigi's voice dies out.

"I am not proud of what I had to do, but it was necessary."

"Necessary for what, oh Master of Illusions?" asks Gadd.

"To get you and your harmful experiments away from my subjects." I respond. "And as for the Mario portrait, just for my own amusement."

"You do realize that you could have asked me to leave Evershade Valley and I would have left, right?" 

"In case you forgot, the last time you saw me I WAS TRAPPED IN A PAINTING!" I yell. "You idiot, even if I tried to ask nicely you would have ran, called that little green menace and trapped me right in here! My best option was to break the Dark Moon."

"You have a very good point, but-" I cut off Little Red.

"ENOUGH!" I shout. "You've already won, let me be to my own devises." I turn away from the glass and float to the far corner of the containment chamber and look to where my crown fell earlier. There appears to be a small hole where the crown was. 

Wonderful, I'll make my escape tonight.

I get to work to make the hole just a little bigger then I'll be able to squeeze through. Just need a few more hours.

~~~

I know this chapter isn't as long as the previous but it'll get better later.


	3. Y/N

I can hear foot steps moving away form my cell.

They're changing shifts...

I feel the metal for the next pair of footsteps. It's faint but I can sense the next set of footsteps around fifteen feet down the hall. I start counting.

One, two, three, four...

I count to ten.

Shift changes after an hour, on the dot. It takes ten seconds for the next guard to get too the door. I have a three seconds of no guards near my door. I think as I stand up. That should minimize casualties.

I stagger towards one of the metal plates near the door. The pain has slowly subsided to a numb ache. That doesn't mean that I can fight like usual. 

I need to be careful and time this properly if I'm going to escape.

I put my hands up to the metal plate and try to feel the pits of Earth residing in it. It's difficult but I eventually felt the Earth inside. I pulled my hands back, and punched the metal.

Nothing. 

I try again.

"Come on, metal. Bend." I say under my breath.

I try one more time. The metal bends under my fist.

Yes! Y/N, you rule.

I turn towards the door and wait around an hour for the shift change. Finally, I feel the footsteps moving away from my cell.

One... two... NOW!

I hit the door with both fists and knock it down. The door falls to the ground with a loud clang. Then the guards show up. 

Of course their not RPUs. Have to make sure I don't break their toys, huh? I sigh. At least there's actually rock here.

I stomp on the ground and on either side of me blocks of rock came up from the ground. I step into a horse stance and push my hands to the rocks. Both of them go flying to the guards and hit them. My back flares up as I watch.

Knock Out! I take a guards keys.

I start to walk around the corner and navigate through the hallway. I'm eventually able to feel Snare a few turns away from me when I hear the scream from earlier down the hall.

"AGH!"

I stop and turn to the source. I turn back towards where they're keeping Snare. I've made up my mind. I made my way to the door where the scream came from.

"...great power source... have to get more soon... fade away..." I can hear someone speaking through the door. I can feel two people on the other side of the door walking this way. I move as quickly as I can around the nearby corner and wait.

"Dr, are you sure that King Boo isn't suspicious of us?" I hear Daniel ask.

King Boo? What on Earth does King Boo have to do with a 'power source'.

"Absolutely, Sir. Besides, the last time we saw or even heard about King Boo was that he was trapped in a portrait by two ghost hunters. I believe their names were Luigi and Professor Elvin Gadd." 

Luigi? Gadd? The King trapped in a portrait?!

"Good. You're making some very good head way, Doctor." Daniel says as he turns away from my hiding spot. I can hear the Doctor follow suite.

I stop the door with a rock and once they turned the corner, I slipped into the room. I almost threw up at the sight that was right in front of me.

Two, of what I assume to be Boos, where chained to the wall. Well as best as they could be. I've never seen a Boo before. They had tiny little nubs for arms, large mouths filled with sharp teeth, a small nub for a tail, and small eyes. All of that was attached to a white sphere. 

The two Boos looked really beaten up. They were very faded, one more than the other. Both of them looked exhausted, abnormally large tongues almost touching the ground and it looks like they're almost fading in and out of consciousness. There's something that's dripping from them, it looks... purple?

I walk up to get a closer look. I can almost see cuts... That purple ooze is coming out of their cuts.

It's their version of blood. I realize. I start to reach towards the Boo. Maybe I can help stop the bleeding. 

All of a sudden, I see it's eyes snap open. I jump back when I see the amount of hate seething from it. "What the Hell do you think you're doing?!" It shouts.

"I- I just want to try and stop the bleeding." I stammer out.

"Well, BACK OFF!" It yells at me again.

"What happened to you two?" I ask. "It looks like you've been through Hell."

"Why do you c-"

"AGH!" We both hear the other Boo scream. The one that was much more faded. In fact, it looks like he faded even more. 

I can see purple electricity moving through the chains and into the wall. 

That's what he meant by a power source! I jump to the Boo, stolen keys in my hand. I need to get it out. But, before I knew it.

*POP*

"It's gone..." I stop. Tears pricking my eyes.

"He." said the other Boo. "His name was Boodini."

"I'm sorry, you two must have been close." I say.

"As close as cellmates can be. We both talked to each other to try and keep sane." It sighed. "Damn Boo always said that he named himself after Houdini because he could get out of any situation or trap... guess he was wrong about this one." He laughs. "Anyway, why did you do that?"

"Jump towards him? Well, I can't stand it when people are in pain. You and Boodini both looked like you were wrongfully accused and tortured." I respond "Like me..." I say under my breath.

"What was that last part." It questions

"Nothing important." I say. "I don't know your name. I'm Y/N."

The Boo looks skeptical but eventually sighs. "Boocifer. And before you laugh, I didn't give myself this name."

"Well, Boocifer. Let's get you out of here." I say with a smile and keys in my hand.

I get the chains off of Boocifer and help him stay off the ground the best I can. I figure out really quickly that I'll need to carry him until he can get to his home on his own. 

"Earlier you mentioned that you don't like seeing people in pain. Boos aren't people. We're dead, spirits, ghosts. So, again, why are you doing this?" Boocifer asks.

"I mentioned that you both looked like you were wrongfully accused of something, didn't I?" He nods, sort of. "Well, I think that's just wrong. You and Boodini shouldn't have been here. You both should be back home with your families and friends, doing whatever either of you like to do!" Boocifer just stays silent.

I walk out the door, feeling the ground for my best route to Snare without getting in the way of the guards. Boocifer stays quiet the entire time, as if he's afraid that we'll get caught. I won't let that happen. 

We eventually made it too the room. We got lucky due to the fact that the guards were starting their shift change. I hid around the corner with Boocifer still in my arms and waited. I finally feel them go away and I immediately move to the door, unlock it, and slip inside.

"What are we doing in here? Aren't we supposed to be leaving?" Boocifer asks.

"We will be, but I need someone first."

"And who, pray tell, is that someone?"

"Just help me look and you'll find out. The box will have my name on it."

I set Boocifer down on the ground and he floats to about my knee height. Ever since I got him out of those chains he seems to be regaining his strength. Boocifer starts to look down the bottom few rows as I look through the top rows. We search for what feels like hours when Boocifer speaks up.

"Your full name wouldn't happen to be Y/N L/N?"

"Yep. I assume you found it?"

"Yeah, it's right over here." He pointed at it with his cute little nub arm. "It's also covered in chains and locks. And it's moving." He pointed out after the box twitched.

They must have put some UV lights in the box to stop him from growing.

"Yeah, that sounds about right." I walk over to Boocifer and take a look at the box. Sure enough, It has an electrical cord running out of it, it's covered in chains, and it's made of the most breakable wood I have ever seen. The wood's old and rotten, as if they were taunting Snare with escape. "I can take care of this."

I pick up the box, pull the electrical cord out of the outlet and throw it on the ground. As expected, the wood breaks into pieces, freeing my lifelong companion.

"Snare! It's so good to see you again buddy." I pick up the little ball of knotted black vines.

"Wait. You have a Devil's Snare? How?! They're practically impossible to grow unless you're a very skilled Plant Bender, a Plant Master!" Boocifer started to ramble. "I JUST SAW YOU EARTH BEND! I THOUGHT YOUR PEOPLE WEREN'T ABLE TO BEND MULTIPLE ELEMENTS ANYMORE?!"

"If you listen to that greedy jackass known as our leader, than you would be correct." I pause for a second. "Wait. Did you say 'anymore'?"

Before he could answer, the alarms started ringing. 

"And that's our queue to leave." He says. "You'll get your answer as soon as you get us out of here!"

"Right." I say as I pick him up. "Let's go."


	4. King Boo

The dent in the corner where my crown fell has gotten bigger. So much so that a human can squeeze through. That professor and Luigi have come down here every few hours or so to make sure I'm not causing any trouble. Whenever any of those three imbeciles walked in, we would have the same boring conversation as when they first locked me in here. Always "why" this and "how" that. Really, can't these stupid humans ask anything else?

Whenever our "lovely" conversations ended and they left, I would turn right back to the dent in the chamber and continue to make it bigger. Metal can only stretch so far until it breaks. Finally, I saw a little speck of light from the laboratory outside of this prison. 

I cackle as I maneuver the metal pieces as far as they can go. 

After a few minutes, the hole was wide enough for my human form to fit through. I float to the circular window that allowed me to see the laboratory. 

I need to make sure that scientist doesn't come down here now. I think as I check the visible areas. Coast looks clear.

I float away from the window and use the last of my magic to change into my human form.

Damn that professor! I mentally curse. If it weren't for this chamber being able to absorb my magic, would have been able to out of this chamber hours ago.

I float over to the hole I created and I attempt to slip through. Unfortunately, it's a tight squeeze and it takes a little longer than anticipated. I eventually get out of that dreaded cage and make my way to the exit.

I freeze just as I made it to the doorway and I look towards the containment unit that holds my subjects. I can see two Boos looking through the small window, they looked so sad. 

I can't just leave them. I walk towards the containment unit, cursing myself. They're my people, how could I have forgotten that they got captured too.

When I got to the unit, my subjects started trying to shoo me away.

"What is the meaning of this? I am going to get you all out of there. Why are you trying to get me away?"

One of them spoke up, Baboon I believe. "We can survive here. You, sire, you're needed back home. You need to leave before Luigi finds out your out." 

"I can't just leave you all here!"

"We'll be okay, if anything, we'll just be bored until you get your revenge." Baboon said with a smile.

"Very well. I will return after Mario, Luigi, and E. Gadd have paid for their crimes against Boos." I say after a moments hesitation. 

I float back over to the exit with one more glance at my subjects. I move through the door and into the rest of the lab. Of course, the rest of this part of the lab is just a metal dome with a giant pole in it. I look up and see a trap door.

"Taking inspiration from me huh, Gadd." I laugh as I float up to the door. No, not a door, a platform. I can hear those insolent mortals now.

"Are you sure, Mario?" that's Luigi's voice.

"Yes, I'm sure. He needs to pay for his crimes against the Mushroom Kingdom." Mario responds.

"I guess I'm going to have to get to work on some Blueprints, huh?" Gadd questions. "I mean, the current containment unit was hard to build. But a portable one?" 

"We have no doubt that you can do it, Professor."

"Alright, I'll get my assistance to get the original containment unit Blueprints. I need to see what I can transfer from one design to another." Gadd sighs. "I am going to need to get some sleep first. And so should you, young whippersnappers."

"But-"I heard Mario start.

"No 'buts', Mario. I have two spare bedrooms for both of you. That fight against King Boo has taken a lot out of Luigi and you look tired as well, my boy. Just stay and first thing tomorrow morning, you two can leave while I get to work."

Silence, then "Fine. I'll stay."

"T-thank you, Professor." I hear Luigi say.

"Goodnight, boys. I'll see you tomorrow."I can hear one pair of footsteps moving away from the room.

"Thank you again, Professor." Luigi again. "Aren't you going to bed yet?"

"I just need to clean up this last little bit... Oh don't give me that look... Fine! I'm coming." Both pairs of footsteps fade. Now's my chance.

I phase through the platform into the rest of the laboratory. Only the outside is "ghost proof" but that's just to keep us out. I need to get out so it shouldn't be a problem. I float over to a nearby wall and phase through it without a problem. 

As expected, those idiots didn't plan ahead.

I turn away from the ridiculous looking building and look towards my kingdom, Evershade Valley. Well, it's only part of my kingdom but I've grown attached to the ghosts and Boos here. 

Now, let's get to work.

I float towards the nearest mansion so that I can regain my strength before I exact my revenge. As I'm making my way, I bump into some of my Boos.

"Your Majesty!" They bow.

"Tell the rest of the Boos and my council to meet me at the Gloomy Manor. I have plans."

"Yes, Your Majesty." They bow again and fly off.

Good. Now to regain my magic.


	5. Y/N

Never have I ever thought that I would be driving a high jacked car with a Boo in the passenger's seat while fleeing my home. Yet, here I am. Boocifer is silently floating just above the seat as I drove the car, trying my best at keeping my back away from the the seat. Snare was curled up on my shoulder, basking in the moonless night. If I didn't know any better, I'd say he was sleeping.

Boocifer and I were able to escape from the prison without too much trouble. We were lucky enough to run into a few of my allies and they were able to get us out of there. Boocifer was reluctant in following them but I was able to convince him with the promise of getting out of there as soon as possible. 

Now here we are, in a stolen car, on our way out of my home country. Boocifer was watching the wheat fields outside his window. He occasionally glances my way with a curious look in his eyes. When I turn to ask him what's on his mind, he just turns right back to the fields.

"Hey, Boocifer?" He turns to me.

"What is it?"

"Do you remember what you said about my people not being able to bend multiple elements anymore?" I ask.

"Yes, I assume you want to know why I said that?" I nod. "Well, it's hard to tell with us Boos but, I am actually really old. Centuries old in fact. I've seen many things, that includes your country's revolution 100 years ago. I just want to know before I go on, what do you know about that revolution?"

"All anyone is ever taught about The Revolution are, what I assume, all lies. We were taught that a very unfair king ruled us all those years ago, he apparently taxed everyone more and more each month. He held parties with no end and he didn't care about his people." I sigh. "Then the Larsen's started rallying the people. We were taught that they alone are our saviors and they alone could end the previous royal family's reign of terror. And we believed it for a long time. We were told that the Larsen's destroyed the royal blood line, no survivors."

Boocifer waited for a minute and then "That's it?"

"Yeah, pretty pathetic, huh?" I laugh. "We're told that we won a legendary war and we don't even know what happened." I feel Snare adjust his position on my shoulder. "So, what about the Revolution is important to our bending?"

"First off, you're right in thinking that you were taught lies. The King that ruled you before was, in fact, very fair and kind to his people. Now, he did make some mistakes but he was human. Every human makes mistakes, it is simply human nature. Now, every Elemental was, or is, able to bend all the elements." Boocifer paused. "I was even able to work with quite a few of your people back in the day."

"Wait, hold on. Elementals and Boos worked together?" I asked in shock.

"Yes. One of the reasons that Boodini and I left home was to see what happened. Why your people stopped interacting with us. As you can see, our excursion didn't end well. We were trapped in that cell for, I believe, years." I simply nod, not knowing what to say. "Our trip wasn't in vain though. We... I can warn the King that it is simply to dangerous to let any of the Boos anywhere near Elemiras."

"Sorry, but now I have two questions..."

"Go on." He replies. 

"Okay, so, did King Boo ask you and Boodini to see what was happening here or did you go on your own?"

"At first it was just going to be Boodini and myself. Then the King caught us on our way out of Evershade Valley. He understood that we were worried, for we had made some friends in Elemiras, and bade us farewell and a safe journey. He wanted us to report back to see if it is still safe for Boos to return. Now, your second question?"

"Right, um. You said that you used to work with some of my people. How? Why?" When he looked at me as if I'd gone insane I just started to explain. "We were always taught that Boos were our worst enemy since, as stupid as it sounds, the beginning of time."

"A little bit odd, don't you think. Especially since you saved me and tried to save Boodini." he laughed.

"I guess I just wasn't thinking, heat of the moment, y'know?" I respond.

"Well, to answer your question, Boos and Elementals were very close. Especially the Airbenders who, at that time, where very spiritual. They would come over to Evershade Valley to visit us and their dead loved ones. As for working with them, we would help guide lost astral projecting Airbenders back home before their soul got lost forever."

"Okay, thank you for answering."

"My pleasure. Although, I do have an ulterior motive." He responds.

"And that would be..?" I glance at him.

"Your Devil's Snare." I feel Snare tighten. "I can tell that you and him have been acquainted for a significant amount of time. How long has it been since you summoned him?"

"I think it's been around fourteen years, give or take." I reply.

"That's odd..." he says in a hushed voice. He turns towards me. "My apologies, I tend to forget how offensive that can be for female humans. You look very young for your age, you don't look a day over twenty-six."

I look at him quizzically. "That's because I'm not..?"

"What?!"

"You actually got my age correct when you assumed twenty-six." I giggled. 

I could feel him staring holes into the side of my head. "Is it common for a Plantbender to summon a Devil's Snare at such a young age now?"

"As far as I can tell, no."

"Then how?!?" Boocifer shouts. "Back when I made frequent visits to Elemiras only elderly Masters could summon a Devil's Snare."

"I couldn't tell you, I was a stupid twelve year old when I first summoned Snare. I just followed the directions of an old book that I found in the basement." I shrug.

"And what were the instructions?"

"Well, I had to draw a pentagram on the floor of a large room, at midnight, when the moon wasn't visible. Then I had to read the incantation in the book, don't ask me what it was I have no idea. Finally, I had to wait for the Devil's Snare to crawl up out of the pentagram and try to subdue it."

"How did you subdue it?" He pushed.

"I held my ground. Believe me, I was afraid. I think Snare noticed that and saw that I was still willing to try and stand up to it." I lift my hand up to Snare and tickle him with my finger, remembering that night.

I wanted to see what would happen, so I snuck out in the middle of the night with everything that I needed and set up in an old abandoned warehouse. After I read the incantation, I froze. Crawling out of the pentagram was a giant pill of vines, knotted up with each other and big red thorns everywhere on it. I couldn't believe my eyes, it actually worked. I had to get my thoughts together before it hurt me so I stood my ground and waited for it to calm down.

"Hi." I said to it. It was just sitting in the pentagram, probably getting a feel for the change of atmosphere. "My name is Y/N."

I kind of wiggled a little as if to say 'Hello, little girl.'

I slowly walk up to it, then it's thorns seemed to grow. I stopped. And I held out my hand.

"I don't want to hurt you, and I hope you won't hurt me..." I said. It brought one of it's vines towards me and that was it.

"I will admit, I didn't so much as subdue Snare than wait till he was ready to 'talk', so to speak." I add.

We drove in silence for a few more minutes. Not an awkward silence, more of a content, relaxed silence.

"Y/N?" Boocifer, finally broke the silence.

"Hmm?"

"You said that the Royal Family was eradicated, correct?" He asks.

"That's what we were taught." I agree.

"That's another lie you were told. There are survivors."

"WHAT?!" I scream and almost crashed the car.

"Be carful, you blasted woman! Or there will be more than one ghost in this vehicle!"

I pulled the car over, put it in park, and turn to Boocifer excitedly. 

"There are survivors!?!? That's incredible!" I shout as I feel Snare slip off my shoulder. "Oh! Sorry about that, you two. It's just that... an actual heir to the throne! That's a game changer!" I'm practically vibrating from excitement. "Do you know who it is?!" I lean towards Boocifer.

"I would appreciate it if you backed away from me first. Doesn't your back still hurt from your wounds?"

"Oh. Right. Sorry." I back up. "And, yeah it does still hurt, a lot actually." I reply.

"To answer you question: no." My face fell. "But that doesn't mean I don't know how to find them." He smirks.

"Really? Please tell me how to find them, I'll go search for them right away. You don't need to come, I can do it on my own. I'll drop you off outside of the haunted forests surrounding Evershade Valley so you ca-" I reach towards Snare as he cuts me off.

"I know how to find them, but you need to heal before you go on this journey." He starts to float a little higher. "Besides, you'll need to talk to the old King. He currently resides in Evershade Valley and just so happens to be on the Kings council along with myself." He smiled, exposing his sharp white teeth.

"So you'll take me too him?" I can feel Snare making his way back 

"Yes, but it might take sometime for his schedule to clear up. That should give you enough time to heal properly, then the journey to the true heir will be much easier."

"Thank you! Thank you so much!" I smile at him. 

"It's the least I can do for rescuing me." Boocifer smiles gently.

"Alright," I put the car in drive and look at my unlikely friend. "Evershade Valley, here we come."


	6. King Boo

I'm finally situated in the Gloomy Manor. It was a little difficult explaining to my council about the sudden council location change but this is the best option for me to regain my strength. 

"Sire? Shall we start the meeting?" asks Henry VIII. 

Henry was one of the first of my council. After he married his sixth wife, he died of natural causes due to his health issues. His spirit stayed in this world and he eventually made his way to my kingdom. Coincidently, all of his ex-wives are here as well. He wasn't to happy about seeing them, especially when he found them all in the same room talking about how horrible of a husband he was. I can neither confirm or deny that I was responsible for the encounter. Henry VIII oversees the Christians, specifically those who worship the English church.

"Not yet, Boocifer still hasn't arrived." I respond.

My council looked around, wary looks on their faces. "What is it? Come on, out with it." I say impatiently.

Louis was the one who finally spoke up. Louis Riel was the most straight forward with me, I suppose it helps that he was the leader of a revolution over in Canada many years ago. He was executed by hanging in Regina, SK. I personally escorted him to Evershade Valley so he could help me understand more of what certain people would want. Similar to how he knew that his people needed to be treated properly. He gives me more diverse laws to hand out so everyone of my people are equal.

"Sire, Boocifer and Boodini never returned from Elemiras..."

I just stared at Louis. "That was two years ago, before I first fought those plumbers and that mad scientist. Surely they would have returned by now."

"I'm afraid that neither have returned. While you were trapped by those men, we sent a small team of Boos and Spirits to look for them." Maya says. Maya Angelou, a people of colour and women's rights activist. Due to her background in literature, I put her in charge of wording decrees. Maya knows how I think, so she was the best option for this job. "Only two spirits came back. We can only assume that Elemiras is no longer safe for Boos or Spirits."

"Very well. Maya, would you please let the rest of the Kingdom know about the circumstances?" I sigh.

"You see, Sire. I already did." I give Maya a confused look. "While you were off fighting the Mario Brothers and Professor Gadd, we waited for Boocifer and Boodini to return. But after a few weeks, we" She gestures to the rest of the council "assumed the worst and I wrote up that the dead shouldn't go anywhere near Elemiras."

"Did we step out of line, Sire." Louis asked after I fell silent.

"No, of course not. I appreciate that you made that call to keep our people safe." I say quickly. "Although, I must say, I am still in shock that Elemiras has become a danger. Especially considering the partnership we had with the Airbenders."

"We understand, Sire." replys Henry VIII. "Now then, shall we get to the meeting?"

"Yes, of course. Proceed with the report of what I missed." I sigh.

"As you wish." Henry VIII nods. "While you were gone, more Boos have unfortunately went missing."

"How many?" I ask sternly.

"...25, sir." Louis answers.

I slam my fists against the table. "How? Why? Who is behind this?!" I bellow.

"If I may, Sire?"

"Please, what do you have to say, Louis?"

"Thank you, sir. Well, I believe it might have something to do with Elemiras and the Elementals." Louis says, hesitently.

"Really? Well, wh-"

SLAM

"Terribly sorry I'm late, Your Majesty." The door slams open revealing Adam. Adam was killed while ruling Elemiras, he was the final king of that bloodline. His son died but luckily his daughter survived. His living family members are currently in hiding, though I don't know why. Adam told the council this and asked that we didn't ask why.

"That's quite alright, Adam." I give him a small smile. "But we do have something that you're going to want to hear." I gesture for him to take his place to my left.

"Thank you, Sire. Now what are we discussing?" He floats over to me.

"We are discussing the amount of betrayal that your people committed." answers Henry VIII. 

"I'm afraid I don't understand. What have my people done?" 

"What Henry VIII is trying to say is, Boos have been disappearing near the boarders of Elemiras." Louis buts in before Henry VIII gets a chance.

"I say we declare was against them!" Yells Henry VIII.

"Now, now. Let's not get irrational. We could write a letter to the current king of Elemiras. I'm sure that it isn't the entire country that's at fault." I try to defuse the situation, glancing to Adam. 

"I can see why you're angered. I am as well, but as the King said, just because there are a few rotten apples doesn't mean the orchard is defective." Adam turns towards me. "And, Sire? I'm not saying that you don't have a good idea, but I'm afraid that I am a bit biased against the new king and his family. After all, they did murder my wife, son, and myself."

"I know." I say to him. "But I can't wage a war against people without solid proof," I turn to Henry VIII, "Nor can I think of any other peaceful approach to this situation." I turn back to Adam. "Maya, after the meeting, would you please write a letter to the current king of Elemiras explaining what is happening near his boarders. And have it sent as soon as possible."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"Perfect, on to the next issue." I turn towards Louis. "Were you able to break off our alliance with King Koopa while I was trapped in that blasted painting?"

"Yes, sir, I was. Although, he did not take it well. Luckily, no one was injured. He simply ended all trading with Koopa's and Boos right there." Louis responds.

"Wonderful. I would like to start trading with the Mushroom Kingdom. I've had enough with being on the wrong side."

"Sire? Would you like me to write a letter to Princess Peach about a possible meeting?" Maya asks.

"I would love that, thank you. Please let her know that, if it would bring her more comfort, she may bring whoever she choses to be a guard. She may also chose the location, as long as there is no sunlight."

"Anyone, Sire?" Adam questions.

"Yes, anyone. Even the Mario Brothers. I don't like them but I do want the Princess to know that I do not wish to cause her any harm or discomfort. If the Mario Brothers need to be in the picture, so be it." I reply.

"I will get right on it, Sire." Maya nods.

It's finally time to turn things around.


	7. Y/N

Boocifer and I stood at the base of the large forest surrounding Evershade Valley. I can't stop looking at those beautiful old tress. 

"Come on, L/N. Stop gawking. They're just big ass trees." Boocifer urged me to go on.

"I haven't been in a forest with such beautiful trees before, excuse me if I'm a little excited!" I snap at him.

"Does it look like I care. Besides, you can grow trees exactly like that in a split second. I don't know how you can be so impressed." he starts to move forward.

"They're naturally grown, that's why!" I start to follow him. "Yeah, trees this large are pretty easy to grow for me. But if you chop one of them down, there aren't any tree rings."

Boocifer turns towards me. "What do you mean?"

"The trees I grow don't have rings because they haven't lived long enough to have more bark grow on them in intervals. Every season, new water and food collecting cells, or tracheids, are added around the trunks of naturally grown trees. That's how they get their rings." I explain excitedly.

"So, because Plantbenders can grow plants in one sitting, the tracheids don't have enough time to attach themselves?" he asks as we continue to move through the forest.

"You have the right idea, but it's more like new tracheids are attaching themselves faster than the old ones can form bark." I respond. "What we can also do is feel the history through the trees. But we can only feel what the tree has felt and that tree needs to have rings. For instance," I start to reach for the tree right next to me. I wince when some more stitches come loose. 

"Are you alright? That didn't sound good." Boocifer looks concerned.

"Yeah, I'll be okay. Like you said in the car. I need some rest." I turn towards him with a forced smile. Boocifer doesn't seem convinced.

"I do wish that we were able to bring the car into the forest. You didn't seem to be under as much strain when you were driving." He looks at the ground, defeated. "But the car won't fit in between the trees. Not to mention, once we enter Evershade Valley, the car will bring unwanted attention."

"And a living human won't?"I tease.

He looked at me, unimpressed. "You were saying, about feeling what the tree felt."

Trying to change the subject, huh? I smirk and turn back to the tree. "When I touch the tree, I can feel how cold the winter was in previous seasons, what sort of animal has scurried up it, and if the ring is close enough to the surface, I can feel hand prints. Very valuable for man hunts."

"And how cold was the winter twenty years ago?" Boocifer asks.

Without missing a beat "negative 30 degrees Celsius being the coldest and negative 10 for the warmest." I smirk at his face.

Aw, he thought he could stump me.

"Just when I thought I had you figured out, you pull something like this."

"I'm afraid I don't follow." I say as we continue walking.

"It doesn't matter. But what does matter is something I think you will love in Evershade Valley." He smiles at me. "And it's one big tree."

My face lights up, but before I could respond we hear shouting.

"I found the car! She went this way, Sir!"

"Find her! That wrench must pay for her crimes!" 

"Daniel." I say in a hushed voice. I turn to Boocifer.

"Can you run?" he asks me.

"I think so."

"Take my hand."

"What hand?"

"Forget it, just run." So I start running.

We moved as quickly as we could. Over tree roots, under branches. I tried not to touch any of the trees. I can't have them know what direction we're going. I tripped.

"Y/N!" Boocifer shouts. He tries to help me up as I cry in pain. By now most of my stitches have come out and I can feel warm blood running down my back.

"Look at me, we need to keep going. Follow my movements and try to keep up." I nod.

I follow Boocifer to the best of my ability, although it is really hard. I can't stop focusing on my back and how much it hurts. It's so much worse compared to the initial lashing. Tears start to cloud my vision. I must be starting to hallucinate as well because when I look ahead of Boocifer, I can see a wall of purple mist. No trees, or bushes, or rocks. Mist.

"Come on, Y/N!" Boocifer nods encouragingly. He motions to the mist. "See the purple mist, we just need to make it through there, okay. Then we will be safe."

I start to stumble as my feet drag across the mossy ground. But I had to keep going.

I need to keep up with him.

I... can't... stop...

And with that, I stepped into the mist. 

I can't see three feet in front of me, and I don't know if it's because of the blood loss or if the mist is that thick.

"Y/N. Follow my voice. We aren't quite safe yet." I can hear Boocifer.

"Okay." I croak. "But you need to keep talking, I can't see a thing."

"That's precisely why I said to follow my voice, child." He sounds annoyed. "This mist isn't meant for the living to pass through with out supernatural assistance."

"That's really smart, a perfect defense mechanism." I whisper as I start to walk forward.

"Save your strength. Your going to need it." he tells me. "And we never installed it. Long ago, before spirits ever came to Evershade Valley, it was once known as Verano Valley. Verano meaning summer in Spanish. Rich human's wanted to bask in the summer sun everyday. So they started to build mansions and move their families here. They were destroying the perfect landscapes with new buildings, for they started to charge others to come and stay. They started building more than just a summer home, hotels started to appear as well. Some witches who took pride and happiness in the valley became enraged by the mistreatment of the land. With the natives permission, for the rich in most countries are never native, the witches blessed the valley with eternal night. The mist that you walk through is the gate and the proof of the spell. The witches turned Verano Valley to Evershade Valley and made it a home for all supernatural being, such as myself. Spirits started to flow in, delighted to finally have their own home and the humans left. The mist circles the valley and a magic barrier protects the creatures of the night from the sun." As Boocifer finishes his story, I finally make it through the mist and step into a forest.

"That's wonderful.... but... what about the natives..? It was their land and the witches... were just visitors, right?" I ask, stumbling through my words.

"An excellent question." Boocifer nods. "The natives are the only humans that can pass alone."

"I'm glad. But they can't live on the land, can they? With eternal night and all."

"That is correct, yes. But they frequently come to visit. We even trade with them." Boocifer added quickly. "This is still their land, spirits have just had the pleasure of calling it home."

I nodded my head as we started to move through the new forest. This forest definitely had a more 'ghosts live here' kind of vibe. The trees were still tall, but the trunks weren't as thick. If I were to wrap my arms around one of these trees, I would be able to touch my fingers. The funny thing is, they look like birch trees. Only, they didn't have any leaves. There weren't any leaves in sight, just tall naked trees.

I guess I shouldn't be surprised, Evershade Valley is not a regular valley. 

I glanced to Boocifer, it looks like his strength has returned. He even had a soft, haunting glow to him.

"I am afraid that I do not know why you have those wounds." Boocifer tries to get a conversation going. "But I don't want you to speak. Like I said you need your strength." 

I give him a look that says 'then how am I supposed to answer your question?'. 

"I will as a series of yes or no questions and you will respond with shaking or nodding your head. Will that suffice?" I nod. "Perfect. Now, did you get a lashing?"

I nod.

"Was it for theft?"

I shake my head.

"Murder? Assault? Sexual Assault? Adultery?!" he asks, raising his voice with each question.

I shake my head, a smile growing as he keeps getting further from the truth.

"...Treason?" he finally asks. 

My face falls as I lift my hand up and give it the little 'sort of shake'.

"Did they accuse you of treason?" he asks.

I nod.

"Is it unfounded?" 

Again, I nod. I feel the world starting to spin as I stumble.

"We better get you to the mansion, and quickly too."

I couldn't agree more. I need to meet the previous king. 

"Boocifer? Is that really you?" a new voice asks.

"Ally?" he stares to were the voice came from. "Ally. You have no idea how glad I am to see you." Boocifer races over to another Boo. She, at least I assume based on the name, looked very similar to him. Probably like every other Boo as well, but she had a beauty mark on the right side of her mouth right under her lip.

"Boocifer! The council has been worried sick. Hell, Everyone has been worried!" She starts to shout at him.

"As much as I appreciate the concern, a friend of mine is dying." Boocifer stops her and gestures to me.

He thinks of me as a friend? "Hello, my name is Y/N." I croak out.

Ally looks at me. Just as she opens her mouth, Boocifer buts in.

"She is in desperate need of healing, and she has already lost a lot of blood. Please, help us."

"I can't-" she starts.

"Why not?" Boocifer cuts her off.

Suddenly, we hear shouting. Some of it sounds like Italian swears.

"That's why. The king recently escaped their clutches and they are not happy about it." Ally sighs. "We need to go, Boocifer."

"I am not leaving, Y/N."

"Are they human?"I ask.

"What?" Ally asks

"Are they human?" I repeat.

"Yes, ghost hunters, but human."

"Boocifer, go." I tell him.

"What?! No!"

"Yes, they will hurt you. If they are ghost hunters, then I should be safe. Worst case scenario, they'll leave me for dead."

"They wouldn't do that, they have a 'sense of honour' to up hold." Boocifer roles his eyes.

"Boocifer! We need to go now!" Ally says trying to pull him away. I can see flash lights in the distance getting closer.

"I'll be fine, go to safety. I'll be okay." I force a smile.

"Fine. But I still have that promise that I made to you. I will find you, Y/N." he finally gives in.

"I'll hold you to it. Now go." Ally and Boocifer fly away, no doubt to a mansion.

I turn towards the lights, they're almost at me. I take a step forward, but my leg can't hold my weight anymore. I fall face first into the dirt. As my vision goes black, I here three different voices surrounding me. Then everything went dark.


	8. King Boo

"I can't say I understand, Your Majesty." Henry VIII says reluctantly. "Why let the vampires in Evershade Valley? They do nothing to help us."

"But we have wronged them." I snap. "Evershade Valley is for all of the Night and Moon. We have denied them that. It is only right so the Vampire King will not bring ill will to our spirits." I dismiss him.

"But, Sire!" 

"No creature of the night will ever be turned away from Evershade Valley. Am I clear?" I turn abruptly.

"...Yes, Your Majesty."

"Good." We continue down the hallway.

"I do have one question, Your Majesty. And it doesn't have anything to do with the Children of the Night." He says quickly.

"Very well, what is it?"

"Well, Your Majesty. The council and myself were, quite obviously, taken aback when you said that Princess Peach could bring whomever she wanted for her audience with you."

"I believe I made my intensions very clear, Henry." I state.

"Yes, you did, sire." Henry VIII says quite quickly, eager to not displease me I suppose. "I, myself, was just curious as to your change in attitude towards the Mario Brothers and Professor Gadd."

"And what about it is confusing to you?" I ask.

"Just that, you seemed very eager to for vengeance last time and now..." He looks around, as if trying to find the right words. "Now, you seemed to have put it all behind you."

"I will admit, Henry, it isn't all in the past. There are still Boos trapped in the containment units with the professor." I sigh. "The last time I tried to carry out vengeance, my subjects got captured and they no longer trust me. I need to focus on being a good king, not on my wounded pride."

"So you aren't angered at them?"

"No, I am angry. But I know that won't solve anything. Breaking the Dark Moon was the worst mistake I have ever made in my afterlife, I want to right that wrong."

"Of course, Sire. I understand." We keep floating in comfortable silence until we get to my office.

My office isn't much, I have a few book shelves lining the walls. Quite a few of them are atlases form all around the world in many different ages. There is one shelf reserved for my luxury reading and the rest are journals of previous rulers of different race, species, and religion. I, of course asked permission to keep them in my personal library for guidance. None of the books would be here unless they agreed. All the previous owners of the journals have moved on into their respective underworlds or they have reincarnated. 

In the middle of my office is my desk, Victorian era. I could never get over the craftsmanship in Victorian furniture. My purple velvet chair sitting right behind it as I float towards the windows in the back. The grand windows give me a gorgeous view of Evershade Valley, I am lucky to have them.

I turn towards my desk and frown at the mountain of paperwork and letters. 

This is what happens when you focus on childish things instead of actual work. I scold myself.

"If it is alright with you, Your Majesty," Henry VIII snaps me out of my little trance, I completely forgot he was there. "I will be taking my leave now."

"Yes, of course." I shake my head and sigh. "You are dismissed."

Henry VIII leaves with a swift bow and closes the door behind him. I turn towards the paperwork on my desk and sit down. 

This is going to be a long night.

I start to read through sheet after sheet. Approving, disapproving, signing documents on reincarnation candidates. Suddenly, there is a knock at my door.

"Your Majesty? May I come in?" I hear a muffled voice from the other side.

"Yes." I answer curtly.

In walks Jane Seymour, third wife of Henry VIII. She unfortunately died giving birth to her son, Edward. She is a kind soul. 

"Hello there, sire. How are you this fine morning?" She asks with a large smile.

"Better now that I smell your tea, Jane." I give her a tired smile. "I see that you also brought breakfast."

"Yes indeed, sire. I have buttered toast with bacon and two over easy eggs, just the way you like it." Her smile grows.

"You are much too good to me, Jane." I smile, taking a sip of the tea. "My, my. Jane?"

"Yes, sire? " she questions while putting down the tray of food.

"Did you make me Deadly Nightshade tea?" I ask giving her a smirk.

"Of course I did! You need your energy, Sire." She giggles. "We can't have you tired with all this work, it'll only make it go slower." 

I hum at her response. "Thank you, now. What do you have tucked under your arm?"

"Oh, yes!" She jumps. "I ran into Mr. Riel earlier when I was bringing your food. He asked me to bring this new decree that you ordered to you for revision." She hands me the small scroll.

"Thank you."

"If you don't mind me asking, Sire, but what will you be decreeing?" she asks as I read it over.

"I suppose it won't hurt to tell you, the rest of the kingdom will know soon enough." I sign the decree and hand it to her. "All spirits under my rule will no longer be associated with King Koopa or any of his allies. We fully separate ourselves from his foolishness." I take another sip of tea, already feeling my energy return.

"Oh, how wonderful! I must tell the others immediately!" Jane smiles with glee.

"Please do, I want this information out as soon as possible. And please return the decree to Louis." Jane bows then rushes out of my office, almost forgetting to close the door with her.

I smile and shake my head. I take a bite out of the toast that was given to me and turn to the pile of letters. I groan as I read what was written on each envelope, recognize the handwriting. I take one of the letters and start reading.

Might as well get this over with. I sigh.

Dear, My King.

I had hoped that we could have ended things on better terms. No, scratch that. I want to stay with you. I know you are busy and that you might not love me anymore, but I love you. I miss you more than I miss being alive, I miss you more than Adam misses his daughter. I want you back. Please, write to me. Give me another chance. I can make everything up to you.

All my love, 

Luciel.

I stare at the paper. She couldn't be serious, right? Yes, we left off on some not so nice grounds but, getting back together!? I fall back into my chair. It is not happening. She tricked me, lied to me. Hell, I thought I was going to marry that spirit. Misses me my ass! All she wants is to be Queen, nothing else from me. 

I take the stack of letters, all of which have that woman's handwriting, and I put them in a pile. I will watch them burn later, after my work is done. Over the course of the night, I was able to get much more done than I thought. All I have left is a small stack of paper and then I can have a break. Much easier said than done.

After what felt like hours, I finished my paperwork. I stood up and turned to the window to look out on the beautiful Valley. I smile as I see quite a few Boos playing with a poltergeist. They all were throwing a ball back and forth. I smile at the sight.

Suddenly the door bursts open. 

"Your Majesty!" Jane yells from the doorway.

"What seems to be the problem, Jane? Is something amiss?" I ask, concern running through my voice.

"Something great, Sire!" I look at her, confusion etched on my face. "Boocifer has returned, Sire." She smiles brightly.

"Are you positive?" I question.

"Yes, I saw him with my own two eyes. Although, he seems weakened." 

"Thank you, Jane." I say as we bolt out of the office to greet my old friend.


	9. Y/N

"She's in pretty rough shape, my boys."

"Can't you do anything, professor?"

"I've done all I could. The lashes... disinfected... don't know.... survive." I fade out.

For once in my life, I can finally sleep with out worrying about Henry or Daniel. I can finally rest. 

No.

I need to find the heir. I have to find them. Elemiras isn't save for anyone, not yet.

I open my eyes. I'm on a small bed in a little office sized room. My back is facing the ceiling. I try to get up but I just fall right back down. Agony searing through my back.

Fuck it

I get up, not with out a lot of difficulty, and I look around the room for snare. I see him crawling out of the pillow case. I reach my hand out to him. "Sorry, buddy." I whisper. "Kind of forgot about you for a minute." Snare just crawls up my arm and takes his spot at the base of my scull.

"Alright, buddy. Let's go find our hosts." I force a smile. Damn, the lashes must be infected. Otherwise I wouldn't be struggling this much.

I try to take a step forward but stumble a little. I grab the bed to try and steady myself as Snare wiggles. 

"Relax, Snare. I'll be okay." I slowly stumble to the door. Opening the door, I can hear three different voices talking. Two of them I can recognize from earlier.

"I already called an old friend of mine, but he told me that there wasn't anything he could do." An older voice says.

"Are you sure, professor? He didn't even try to come and look at her?" says a man with an Italian accent.

"Yes, I am. I sent him pictures of the pour girl's back." The older voice sounds defeated. I start to walk towards the voices. It's a very small hallway so I won't need to go far.

A new voice starts to speak. "If you ask me, I think she should be handed over to the authorities." Also with an Italian accent.

"Mario..."Says the second voice.

"No, Luigi. Think about it, a young woman is fatally injure in the haunted forest. She made it into Evershade Valley with out the assistance of a ghost or a pixelator. Doesn't that give you any red flags?" The voice, Mario, snaps.

"Now, Mario, we can't have that kind of attitude. She was wounded and alone. Besides, we can easily have her answer our questions when she- oh hello there!"

I walk out into the small room, it looks like a laboratory with three monitors on the wall. "Hello," I barely says. "Thank you for finding me." I lean against the door way.

Three short men are standing right in front of me. None of them could be taller than my shoulder. The shortest one's head couldn't have been taller than my hips. This man was wearing a lab coat over top of a red golf shirt. His shoes kind of remind me of oversized brown socks. Now, this man is definitely old. He has winkles and, from the smile that he is giving me, he's loosing teeth. On top of his head was a large swirl standing up on his head, all of it was gray. The rest of his head was bald. He was also wearing glasses so clouded that I couldn't see his eyes. 

How can he see out of those. 

"What are you doing out of bed, young lady?" the short old man asks. 

"I need to get back as soon as possible." I say. "I have a... friend waiting for me." I finish with a smile, remembering how Boocifer introduced me to Ally.

"A friend you say? Well, they're just going to have to wait." the man old man says. "But first, allow me to introduce my self. I am Professor Elvin Gadd, but you can just call me Professor."

"Alright, Professor. My name is Y/N L/N. It's a pleasure to meet you." I say. 

"Now, young lads," the Professor turned to the other two men. "I think it's about time you two introduced yourselves too." 

"Okay." Says the one man dressed in a green long sleeved shirt and hat. The hat had an 'L' in green on a white circle. He was also dressed in large blue overalls with yellow buttons. He was also wearing large brown shoes. He has a mess of brown hair on his head and a large black mustache. This man also has the biggest nose I have ever seen. Pour thing's also shaking like a leaf. "Hello, my name is Luigi."

"It's nice to meet you, Luigi." I smile at him.

The last man walks up to me and take my hand. He dressed in the same get up as Luigi, except it's all red and instead of a green 'L' on his hat, it's a red 'M'. He also seems shorter than Luigi. If I had to guess, I'd say that he couldn't be taller than my ribs whereas Luigi reaches my shoulders. This man starts to shake my hand and obviously forcing a smile. 

"Hello, there. I'm sure you know who I am. It's nice to meet you." He has a very strong Italian accent.

"It's nice to meet you as well. Unfortunately, I don't know who you are." I shake his hand, apprehension in my voice.

The man in red just looked at me, shocked. As if everyone in Europe should know who he is.

"I'm Mario. The man who constantly battles Bowser and saves Princess Peach from him? Multiple times? Who has battled more Boos than these two ghost hunters?!" Mario gestures to Luigi and the Professor. "I do that. I save people."

"Now, now, Mario." the Professor wags his finger at Mario. "Who here put all those Boos in the containment unit down stairs? Luigi and myself." he humphs.

"But I am the recognized one! Everyone who has ever been to the Mushroom Kingdom knows who I am!" Mario starts yelling.

"Well there's your answer." I speak up. The three men turn to me.

"What do you mean, Y/N?" Luigi asks, very timidly.

"I mean that I've never been anywhere near the Mushroom Kingdom. In fact, this is the first time I've ever been out of Elemiras." I point out.

"Elemiras? You're from Elemiras?" the Professor asks. I nod as I see his face light up like fire flies in a moonless night. "Incredible! I've only ever met a few people from your country! They didn't really want to answer my questions but maybe you could?" 

"I would love to help." I say after some hesitance. "But I can't right now."

"Oh, that's right! You're injured. Don't worry, dear girl, I'll fix you up in no time." he smiles.

"As much as I appreciate you all helping me, I can't answer your questions after I'm in better shape."

"And why not?" Mario asks accusingly.

"I need to get to my friend. He is the whole reason I left Elemiras."

"So you only left your country for... love?" Luigi asks.

"No, Luigi. I didn't." I correct him. "I left to find someone that can help with a dire situation back home." I can't let them know what is going on. Something tells me that Mario will just barge in there himself and that won't do anyone any good. "My friend is someone who knows how to fix things."

"What sort of things?" Mario take a step closer.

"What do you mean?" I ask.

"What is wrong back in Elemiras and what can your friend fix?" I freeze.

Quickly, Y/N! Think of something! "Well, all I can tell you is that our ruler is very sick. My friend has seen this sickness before and told me he knows the remedy." Not entirely a lie, but it'll work.

That seems to satisfy Luigi but now it's the Professors turn to speak up. "And how did you and your friend make it here? Luigi and I were only able to enter the mist because of my technology and some specters I've befriended."

"Well... my friend is a werewolf." Now you're lying though your teeth, Y/N! Get out of there! "I met him out side of Elemiras since I was sent out to find a remedy by my ruler." 

"Oh, really? Tell me, Y/N, why would they send someone whose never been out side of Elemiras to find a remedy?" Mario questions. I can feel Snare wiggling, ready to pounce and get me out of there.

"Oh, well..." Shit. Shit. Shit. I'm starting to sweat bullets. 

"And one more thing, young whipper snapper. In all my studies in Evershade Valley, I have never seen a werewolf." the Professor comments. 

"Mario. Professor. Please calm down." Luigi steps in between the others and me. "I'm sure there is a reasonable explanation." I can tell he doesn't believe his own words. I start to scratch the back of my neck and trace circles on Snare, telling him: Don't kill, just escape.

"Why don't we let her answer?" Mario states, turning to me. By know, I'm focusing my Earthbending to find the nearest exit. But metal is harder to see in than earth. Found it! I trace a line from left to right on Snare to show the direction we need to go.

"Listen you guys, I'm really sorry about this. But I really need to go..." I start to back up, hands out in front of me ready to push someone away.

"Oh, no you don't!" Mario jumps at me.

"NOW!" I yell. Snare jumps down from my shoulder and starts to grow. Two of his vines come in between me and the men as one other picks me up. I wince at the sudden contact to my injured back as Snare pulls me away and puts me on his biggest vine. Snare crawls as fast as he can to the right and out the exit. He doesn't stop moving and keeps a firm hold on me in case I pass out.

"Thanks, buddy." I sigh. "That was close."

As I hear voices shouting in the dark, Snare and I silently make our way through the woods and, hopefully, to Boocifer.


	10. King Boo

"It's been too long, old friend." I sigh with a smile, leaning back into my office chair.

"Indeed it has, Your Majesty." Boocifer smiles back.

I was able too see Boocifer as soon as he came through the door. He and another Boo named Ally seemed a little faded when they entered the mansion. I told Ally to go back to her family and asked Boocifer to come to my office. That way he can tell me everything that has happened since I last saw him.

"Now, please, tell me what happened in Elemiras." I rest my hands on my desk.

"Before I tell you anything, sire, I mist tell you that what you are about to hear isn't something pleasant." Boocifer looks down, dejected.

"It's alright, my friend. I will try to stay as silent as I can while you explain." I smile gently.

Boocifer sighs. "Well, Elemiras has made a turn for the worst. When Boodini and I left for Elemiras, we just assumed that the Elementals where just tired and needed a break. But the rulers there are cruel. When Boodini and I got there, we were immediately captured and chained in a cell. We were connected to lines that took away our energy, for what I'm not sure. They kept us there for many years..." he pauses. "They locked us there while we slowly faded away, I was lucky to get out."

"And Boodini..?" I ask slowly.

"He was the first they chained... we were separated for a day. Then they finally put the lines on me after moving me to the appropriate room with him. Boodini faded right before my eyes... he's gone." Boocifer's gaze drops to the floor.

I stand up and walk over to him and place my hand on him. "Where you able to move?"

"...no"

"Could you have pulled the lines from his body?"

"...no" Boocifer looks up at me, tears of ectoplasm rolling down his cheeks.

"Then there was nothing you could have done. We will all morn the fading of Boodini but we will also remember him. Please, old friend, do not blame yourself." I smile and Boocifer returns the gesture. I take my handkerchief and wipe the tears away.

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

I smile and turn towards my desk. "Now, what are the details of your escape? I doubt they just let you go." I say, taking my seat.

"You would be correct, Sire. But I didn't do it on my own." Boocifer's eyes start to light up. " This one Elemental, she found us and, despite her fear of us, she rushed to try and get Boodini out. She was, unfortunately, unsuccessful. Although, she was able to free me."

"And what element does she bend?" I ask.

"Contrary to what we believed, the Elementals can still bend more than one element." He starts to get excited.

"Really?" This peeked my interest.

"Yes! I was quite confused myself. She was fighting the guards with Earthbending but she needed to retrieve her Devil's Snare! She also used Firebending to light the way in the sewers that we escaped through and used Waterbending to slow down the robotic guards chasing us." Boocifer is practically vibrating.

"Robotic guards..?"

"I don't know the details. I never asked."

"Does this mystery woman have a name?"

"Yes! Her name is Y/N." Boocifer relaxes a bit.

Y/N, what a lovely name... I smile to myself.

"Now, where is Y/N? I want to thank her personally for helping you escape that prison."

Boocifer's smile fades as he explains. "Unfortunately, sir, she was gravely injured. We were being chased through the forest before we got to the mist. The poor thing tripped and fell, opening up the gashes on her back. There was a lot of blood, but she kept moving. We finally got through the mist and she looked as pale as us, Sire."

"Did she... die?" I ask carfully.

"No. At least, I don't think so. Ally found us and told me that the Mario Brothers and the Professor were going that way. Y/N insisted that I leave after finding out that they were ghost hunters. She wanted me to be safe..." Boocifer looks down, guilt in his eyes. "For all I know, they might not have seen her and she's dead in the middle of the forest."

"Well, I might just have to dispatch a search team to find her right away. I'll have Louis join in the search as well." I call to the door. "Anne, I know your listening. Please come in."

Anne Boleyn, second wife of Henry VIII. She is responsible for the Church of England and England's separation from the Vatican. After she had her baby girl, Anne got her head chopped off for adultery accusations. She is the most troublesome spirit I have ever met.

"My apologies, Your Majesty. I-" I raise my hand, cutting her off.

"Please, would you go and tell Louis that I want a search party for a young living woman in the forest? She is injured and needs to be tended to."

"I'll inform Louis right away, Sire." Anne flies out of the room after a quick bow.

"Thank you, sire. I hope they will be able to find her. I promised that I would aid her in finding the heir to Elemiras." Boocifer's expression softens. 

"I'm sure they will find her. Now, why was she injured?"

"From what I gathered, she was falsely accused of something, I am unsure of what though." I look at him, shocked. Boocifer starts to explain. "When she first tried to get Boodini and myself out of the cell, I asked her why she was trying to help. She told me that she can't stand it when beings are falsely accused, like herself. She whispered that last part under her breath but I was able to pick it up." 

"Well, when she gets here we might just have to ask her ourselves." I smile at Boocifer. 

"Now, what were her injuries? You did say they were grave."

"Yes, there was quite a bit of blood seeping into her bandages. I couldn't see the extent of her injuries but she most certainly lost a lot of blood. She confirmed that she was lashed" Boocifer sighs. "When I asked her if it hurt, for she was moving quite often, she said and I quote: yes, a lot acctually."

"Then why on Earth was she moving?" I'm stunned. Humans are fragile, too much blood lost and they could die. "Now I understand why you thought that she has died."

"Yes, she was in horrible condition when I last saw her. She collapsed just as Ally and I left." Guilt crawls it's way onto Boocifer's face. 

I stand up and walk towards the door, motioning Boocifer to follow me. Boocifer got up off his chair, confusion littered his face. We moved through the corridor in silence until we made it to the little garden at the mansion. I move to the Deadly Nightshade patch and gesture to the smallest and weakest out of the patch. 

"Do you see this Nightshade?" Boocifer nods. "See how it looks like it won't survive? How if I, a spirit, touches it" I give the plant a little poke. "it's petals and leaves start to fall?" Again, Boocifer nods. "All it needs is the appropriate care and time and the plant will flourish. And," I move some of the other, taller Deadly Nightshades from blocking the small one. "a little bit of Moonlight can do wonders." I smile as the plant starts to get stronger right before my eyes. 

"I'm afraid I don't understand, Sire."

"From what you have told me about this Y/N, she is a strong resilient women who just needs some time and care. The other humans will help her and then all she needs is a touch of Moonight and you will see her again. I have no doubt that you new friend is alive."

"Thank you, Sire. I really appreciate the gesture to bring my hopes up." I see his smile grow.

Perfect, a Boo is never a Boo without their smile. I hum.

"Your Majesty." Anne comes into the garden, a smile clear on her face. 

"Yes?" I turn to her.

"Monsieur Louis just returned from a previous excursion into the woods. I only just gave him your message when he asked for me to find out if this young woman is a bender."

I look at Boocifer. "Yes, she is a very young Plant Master. She has a Devil's Snare if that helps."

"Indeed it does!" Anne seems excited. "Monsieur Louis says that his spirits have spotted a young woman riding a Devil's Snare through the woods."

"That must be her!" Boocifer laughs. "She was absolutely unpredictable when I met her, but riding a Devil's Snare? That's on the verge of insanity." Boocifer shakes his head.

"Wonderful, tell Louis to bring her here. Show her that we mean no harm and bring her to the throne room. I must meet this mysterious young woman." Anne bows and rushes off to inform Louis. "I will make her as comfortable as I can while she stays here to recover." This makes Boocifer smile grow larger than I've ever seen it.

Something tells me that this woman will change Evershade Valley for the better. I smile.


	11. Y/N

Snare and I move quickly through the forest. Snare refused to let me off of his 'back' due to my injuries. I didn't really insist to get down either, it's nice to get off my feet. Of course, my back still hurts. It just isn't as bad as it has been. At times there are considerable amounts of pain but nothing too serious.

"I think we're far enough away, Snare. Let's see if we can find Boocifer." I pet Snares side gently as he slows down.

We keep moving through the forest and then I see an old mansion. 

"Look, Snare." I point to just over the tree line. "I think that's the mansion Boocifer mentioned. Or it might just be a haunted mansion. Either way, I think we should go there." I smile.

Just as Snare starts to move in the mansion's direction, a few Boos and Spirits pop up in front of us. Two Boos and two Spirits, the Boos look exactly the same, the spirits on the other hand. I've never seen Spirits before. The two Spirits both look like they are alive, at first glance that is. They look solid but I can see very distinct bruising around the man's neck. Both of them also have a haunting glow to them that is very similar to the Boos. They were also floating above the ground, so that's a dead give away that they're, well, dead.

The woman speaks first, "Hello there, young lady. My name is Maya Angelou." She says with the kindest smile I have ever seen. Maya is dressed in a light blue jump suit that complements her dark skin tone beautifully. She is also wearing a large silver necklace and matching shoes. Her hair is a lighter shade of gray but the glow emitting from her body makes it look as silver as her jewelry. "But you can call me Maya."

"Hello..." I trail off as I turn to the other Spirit. The Boos start to circle me as if they're trying to see if I brought any weapons. 

I'm in rags, how would I be able to sneak something past? 

"Well, I suppose I should introduce myself as well, shouldn't I?" says the other Spirit. He is dressed in a nice looking suit, an old fashion one but very nice looking one. The suit has a light blazer, a darker high collared vest, and a nice white button up. He has a sort of formal leader vibe coming from him but with a gentle smile. He has a dark bushy mustache and dark curly hair. "My name is Louis Riel." He holds his head high, proudly exposing the bruising around his neck. If I had to guess, I'd say he died from hanging.

"It's a pleasure to meet you both. My name is Y/N L/N and this," I gesture to Snare, "is Snare."

"May we call you Y/N?" Maya questions.

"Of course, I don't mind." I smile.

"If it's all the same to you, I would like to call you Ms. L/N." Louis speaks up.

"I don't mind at all. Would you prefer if I referred to you a Mr. Riel?" I ask.

"Actually, I would." He smiles, looking relieved. The Boos keep circling around me and give me a few pokes here and there. I will admit it did sting just a little when they poked my bruises. Then they started poking my back really hard.

"Ah!" tears start stinging my eyes. Snare shifts us both away from the Boos. I gently rub his side to reassure him.

Maya looks at me concerned. "Are you all right, dear?"

"Not entirely, I have large wounds on my back and it kind of hurts to move." I smile. "It's not that bad though, I mean, Snare is helping me get around." 

"We're sorry, miss. But we need to make sure that you didn't bring anything that can hurt anyone here." One of the Boos apologizes.

"It's okay, I understand." 

"There doesn't seem to be anything, sir." The other Boo ignores me and turns to Mr. Riel. They seemed to have a French accent.

"Thank you, John." Mr. Riel turns to me. "Now, young lady, I want to know if the name 'Boocifer' rings a bell to you." My eyes light up when I hear Boocifer's name.

"Yes, of course. We helped each other out of a messy situation." I smile. "Did he make it safely to the mansion? Last I saw him he looked pretty strong but he still had some cuts on his body."

"I'm sure he appreciates your concern and he is doing just fine." Maya waves Snare and I to follow them. "Please follow us." Snare starts moving while the two Boos float beside us.

"Boocifer asked the King if he would send a search party out for you, he was quite distressed." Maya giggles. "He is also doing just fine, only small closed cuts are left."

"I'm glad that he is okay." I sigh. I pause, "Did Boocifer explain how we know each other?" I ask, skeptical.

"He didn't get the chance to. The King wanted to talk to him immediately." Mr. Riel answers. "Since the King had us look for you, we can only assume that Boocifer told him what happened."

"And before you tell us, we need to get you healed up, little one." Maya speaks just as I opened my mouth. "Besides, we will get a chance to hear what happened to you two." She glances to my back.

"Alright." 

We just continue in comfortable silence, it almost seems peaceful. The only sound was Snare crawling through the dark grass and the bushes. The Boo's haunting glows are, as strange as it is, comforting. They remind me that I'm out and that I will be safe soon. Their glows aren't as prominent as Boocifer's, but it's still nice. Now that I'm not running for my life, I can feel the cold radiating from them. As one of the Boos moves closer, I think it was the one who apologized, I can feel the cold more, proving my theory.

"Wow." The Boo looks at me in awe.

"What is it?" I turn towards them.

"Oh, sorry!" They jump. "I've never been this close to a human before and all I heard was rumors. I just wanted to check to see if they were right." They look down, deflated.

"It's completely okay! If you have any questions you want to ask me, I would be happy to answer them." I smile. "I just want to know what rumor you were testing."

"Really? Thank you!" They, kind of, hug me. "Oh, and everyone keeps telling me that humans don't radiate the cold like us. You guys radiate heat instead."

"Well, as you can feel, I do radiate heat." I hug back. I look down at them. "Do you have any questions for me?"

"Right! So," They float up to my face. "Do you-"

"Charlie!" The other Boo interrupts. "Stop. She doesn't need your ridiculous questions." They scold. This one has a strong male voice while the other Boo, Charlie, has more of a child's voice.

"Sorry, Papa..." Charlie starts to tear up. "I'm sorry miss." I can feel my heart breaking at the sight.

"It's okay." I smile bringing my hand up to Charlie's cheek. "Besides, I was the one who offered to answer your questions."

"Are you sure it's fine? They are very curious, you might not get out of this." Charlie's papa asks, concerned.

"I don't mind at all, I can answer all their questions to the best of my ability." I smile. "Although, I have one question of my own." I turn to Charlie. "Are you non-binary? I just want to make sure I don't mess up your pronouns."

"Yep! They/Them for me please." They look so happy. I remove my hand from their cheek as they backs up a little. "Okay, my turn. Do you humans really need to eat? We Boos don't need to eat but we like the taste of some foods so we do have chefs."

"Yes, I need to eat and drink so I can stay alive. Food and water give me nutrients to keep my body functioning properly." I smile as I think. They eat? Charlie did say that they don't need to... they just do it for fun.

"What's that red stuff coming from your back? And why does it hurt when I touch it?"

"The red stuff is called blood. I need it to stay alive too. The blood carries oxygen to the rest of my body, it also has certain cells that will kill any bad germs before I can get sick. As for why it hurts me when you poke it, it doesn't." Charlie looks at me confused. "Blood comes out when my skin breaks. The spot that's bleeding is very sensitive to touch. It's because I have these things called nerves that let me feel things but they're always under skin. They're never usually exposed like that." They still look confused. "Um, like when you guys bleed purple liquid?"

"How do you know about that?" Charlie's papa demands.

"When I first met Boocifer, he was badly hurt." I shudder at the memory. One of Snare's small vines wrap around my ankle as comfort. "He was chained to a wall and had cuts all over his body... When I got a closer look, I saw purple liquid pooling down him and onto the floor."

"I think I understand." Charlie pipes up. "When you're hurt, you leek blood instead of ectoplasm." 

"Exactly." I smile. I can see Mr. Riel and Maya listening in the corner of my eye.

"We're almost there, you three." Maya calls back to us.

"Okay, I have one more question for you." Charlie looks at me. "How do you make more humans?" 

...What?

"I'm sorry?" I question blinking, baffled. Charlie's papa snorts behind me.

"Well, Boos can't really die, but humans die all the time. So humans need to make more humans so they don't die out. How do you do that?"

"Well, um..." Shit, how old is this kid? "You need a female human and a male human. They need to do a specific activity together and then the female human gets, what we call a baby, in her tummy. The baby grows a little in her tummy then they kind of just, pop out. The baby grows into a kid, then a teen, and finally an adult." All through my explanation, Charlie's papa is laughing while Charlie has the most innocent look I have ever seen.

"What's the activity?" Charlie asks without missing a beat.

"Uh..."

"We're here, everyone." Maya declares while she and Mr. Riel hold back snickers.

Thank you, Maya! I sigh. "Sorry, bud. Guess that's going to have to wait for another time." I smile.

Charlie's papa moves close to my ear and whispers."I warned you."

I whisper back. "You sure did." I bring my hand to my head. Snare was convulsing a little, he was laughing at me. I give Snare a little kick as we move towards the giant mansion in front of us.

The mansion has a large front garden going a cross the entire front. I can see so many different kinds of plants that I could have never imagined. There are only two kinds of plants that I can identify, all the mushrooms and the Deadly Night Shade. There were stairs to the deck area and large double doors a few feet away from the stairs. The mansion has to have at least two floors, maybe three. There are Spirits and Boos gathered around the garden and they all turn towards us when they see us. One Boo starts booking it towards us.

"Dad!" Charlie yells. "Look who we found!" Charlie points to me.

The Boo makes it to Charlie and gives him a giant hug. Charlie has two dads... cool. Charlie's papa makes his way over to the two other Boos.

"I'm glad my two favorite boys are okay." Charlie's Dad gushes.

"Ronin, honey, it was just a search party." Charlie's papa shakes his head.

"I know, I know." Ronin sighs. "But you know how worried I get, John."

The family right in front of me gives each other another hug. Then Charlie starts to speak.

"Dad! This is Y/N. She answered some of my questions." Charlie introduces me excitedly.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Y/N. I'm Ronin." He sticks out his little arm, nub, thing.

"It's nice to meet you too, Ronin." I smile and take his arm thing, shaking it.

"Ronin, you won't believe what your child asked this poor woman." John smiles devilishly. Ronin looks at his husband a little confused. "They asked her how humans were made."

Ronin jumps and starts apologizing. "That must have been so awkward for you." He looks paler. Can Boos get even more pale?

"Don't worry about it, they were just curious." I smile.

"Ms. L/N, we need to get going." Mr. Riel calls to me. "The King wishes to meet you as soon as possible."

"I'll be right there." I call back. "It was a pleasure talking with all of you. I hope you have a good rest of your day... or night?"

They all laugh a bit as Snare takes me towards the garden, following Maya and Mr. Riel. When we get to the door, Snare needs to shrink a little so we can both get through. When we get inside, I try to jump off Snare but he holds on to me. 

"Looks like he's not letting you go for a while." Maya giggles a little.

"He's really worried about me. I carried him for a long time while he was recovering. Now it's his turn to carry me while I recover, I guess." I rub the back of my neck.

Maya nods and takes us a bit further into the foyer. "Now, you two. We have a security measure for when mortals come visit the King."

"And that would be..?" It was at this moment, Y/N knew, they fucked up.

A trap door opened up under Snare and we fell through. Snare holds on to me tight so I won't fall as we are caught by a slide. We go down the slide for what feels like minutes when we land on a large purple pillow.

"Terribly sorry, little one." Maya appears. "That door can tell if someone has ill intentions towards the King... we can't tell you about it until it says you are trust worthy."

"I understand. No harm done, after all" I reassure Maya.

"Good to know you are alright." Mr. Riel smiles gently. "Are you ready to meet the King?"

"One second, please." I respond. "Snare, could you please let me down? I want to be able to bow to the King properly."

Snare hesitates. "I know you care and don't want to see me get hurt. How about you stay by my side as a sort of crutch? I can walk but you can make it easier for me." I smile and rub his side.

Snare complies and wraps a vine around my hips carefully. He lifts me up and gingerly places me right next to him. I place my hand on Snare and he doesn't let go. That's all I could ask for.

"Thanks, Snare." I turn to Mr. Riel and Maya. "We're ready."

They gesture to a large double door a few feet away from us. "Just knock on the door and they will open when the King is ready." Mr. Riel instructs us. "Maya and I have some important work to do."

I wave as they take their leave. When they're gone, Snare and I move up to the violet doors. I bring my hand up and knock.

The doors fly open and reveal the throne room. The room looks like it is made of marble. Pillars lined the walls along with beautiful deep purple curtains with gold trim. A long carpet extends from the doors to the end of the room matches the colour scheme of the curtains. At the end of the room is a purple and gold throne. Sitting on the throne is King Boo, holding a glass of red wine. His head is resting on his hand and his right leg is draped over his left.

Wait, his head looks like a Boo but he has a human body.

Snare and I move into the throne room and make our way to the King. When we're about 6ft away we bow. I grimace from the pain in my back.

"Thank you for your hospitality, Your Majesty. We are truly grateful."

I get a better look at the King. His head is definitely a Boo floating above a human body. He has light blue skin and his white hair was done up in a Victorian era fashion. The King's eyes are a deep magenta. He is dressed in a white Victorian suit with light blue trim on the sleeves and the collar of his suit jacket. His dress shirt is a dark blue and he has a magenta jewel attached to his white cravat.

"The pleasure is all mine, my dear. You are the one who helped my friend and right hand man get home." The King gets up from his throne, his glass of wine floating in the air as he let go. "For that, I am truly grateful." The King takes my free hand, leans down and kisses it.

~~~

Finally! The meeting! Sorry it took so long... and sorry that this chapter is so long... Thank you all for reading!


	12. King Boo

Y/N. That's what Boocifer said her name is...

The young woman in front of me is bowing and thanking me. A large Devil's Snare is at her side, holding her up. I barely hear her, I am awestruck.

What do I do again..? I can't stop looking at her.

I walk up to Y/N take her hand and kiss it. I don't remember what I said before.

Snap out of it! She is injured and needs help, not an old king staring at ther.

"I should be the one thanking you." I say as I straighten up. "I have heard quite a bit about you and your escape with Boocifer. But I would like to hear what you have to say, my dear."

She smiles kindly and nods. "I'd be happy to, You Majesty." She bows again, wincing. I actually get a good look of her and I am just horrified.

Her hair is caked in leafs, twigs, and dried blood. Her body is covered in scratches and bruising under the rags that she is currently wearing. Those rags just so happen to have large blood stains that are especially prominent on her back. Some of it looks fresh. She doesn't even have shoes on. What's more, the poor thing is shivering and the tips of her toes and fingers are blue along with her lips.

"Just before you start your story, I must insist that you rest. Your journey must have been long and tiring. And," I raise my hand before she can object. "I know quite a bit on how humans work. Truly, it's a miracle that you haven't died from your wounds."

She starts to fiddle with the end of her rags. Rolling the fabric between her thumb and fingers. "If it's all the same to you, Your Majesty," she looks up at me. "I want to tell my story before important details get fuzzy." I raise my brow.

"You need rest." I repeat.

"I can't remember quite a bit about my ordeal already."

This one is quite stubborn, isn't she?

"I assume that it's safe to say that you won't rest until you tell you piece?" I cross my arms.

She looks down, a blush slightly dusting her cheeks. Her Devil's Snare nods one vine to agree. I sigh.

"Very well," I snap my fingers and two regal chairs floats over. One lands right behind Y/N. "At least take a seat."

She nods and sits down. I can see a flash of pain go through her face. She, quite obviously, forces a smile to try and hide it.

The other regal chair lands right behind me and I take a seat. "I think it's safe to assume that you don't know how cold you are."

She looks at me confused. Then shock.

"Wow, guess running for my life really disguises how cold my body is." She chuckles.

"Jane?" I call out. Jane phases into the room with a smile.

"What can I help you with, Sire?" Jane looks to me then Y/N. Jane face falls into evident concern as she rushes over to her. "You poor thing! You must me freezing."

"That's exactly why I called you, Jane." I chuckle. "Would you please get one of those large spare blankets and some tea?"

"That's not necessary, Your Majesty." Y/N speaks up before Jane could answer. "I'm fine, really."

"Tell that to your blue fingers, toes, and lips." I raise an eye brow. "This is the least we can do for what you have done for us."

"Alright, thank you." She looks down with embarrassment. "But I really didn't do much..." She says under her breath.

I motion for Jane to leave. "Just before I go, would you like cream or sugar in your tea, dear?" Jane turns to Y/N.

"Just a little bit of both would be nice if it isn't too much trouble." She smiles sheepishly.

I'm having a hard time believing she's this shy... maybe it's the blood loss?

"Not a problem at all." Jane smiles and turns to me. "I'll let Boocifer know that she is here. I'm sure he's done his paperwork by now."

"Thank you, Jane." She bows and leaves the room.

I look back towards Y/N and notice that her Devil's Snare has moved closer to her and wrapped around her. It looks like it's trying to comfort her. It definitely succeeded because Y/N looks much more relaxed.

"Might I ask what your name is, Fratris Noctu?" I ask the Devil's Snare, reaching out my hand.

At first, Y/N looks at me, confused. Then, the Devil's Snare reaches out one vine and places it in my hand.

"Snare? What a lovely name." I smile, exposing my sharp teeth.

"You can understand him?" Y/N asks, bewildered.

"Yes. I rule the creatures of the Night that reside in Evershade Valley, I should know how to talk to everyone of my subjects."

"That makes sense... if you don't mind me asking, Your Majesty," I motion for her to go on. "What did you mean by Fratris Noctu? I know what it means but I'm not entirely sure why you would say Brother of the Night?"

"I'm surprised that you know Latin."

"I had a week off." She shrugs as I chuckle and shake my head.

"It's a saying of respect for ancient beings that can't go into the sunlight. We would say it when we are meeting a vampire or werewolf leader."

"But I can't really say it because I'm human, right?"

"Correct." I nod. "Now, my dear, I need you to tell me what happened to you and Boocifer."

"Yes, of course." Jane phases into the room with Boocifer in tow.

"Here you go, dear. A blanket and some warm tea." Jane smiles, handing Y/N her tea.

"Hello, Y/N." Boocifer wraps the blanket around her. "I'm glad to see that you're alright."

"I could say the same for you." Y/N giggles. "Glad you made it home safely."

Jane hands me tea and bows. "I'll just take your wine glass to the kitchen, Sire."

"Thank you, Jane." Jane takes the wine glass that was floating next to the throne and leaves. "Alright, Y/N," I turn to her. "Let's hear what you have to say."

Boocifer stays by Y/N's side while she tells her side of the story. It is very similar to what Boocifer told me. As she said earlier, her memory is fuzzy from the blood loss so there are a few holes that Boocifer easily fills in.

"They're probably still out in the forest beyond the mist, sir." She says. "But, from what Boocifer told me about the mist, they probably won't be able to get in."

"Unless they have a being of the Night to lead them through." I agree. "I just have one question before you continue."

"Yes?" Y/N tilts her head.

"Why were you injured? How were you injured?" I correct myself.

She looks down, but not before I see the overwhelming hate in her eyes. "I was lashed for reasons that I am not comfortable sharing at this time."

"Then you don't need to say." I reach out to her and hold her hand. "I don't want you to do anything you don't want to, dear."

She relaxes. "Thank you for understanding, Your Majesty." I take my hand from hers and motion for her to finish her story.

She sighs and continues. "After Boocifer and I got through the mist, we met Ally. She said that she and Boocifer really needed to get going. Something along the lines of 'they're ghost hunters and upset.' I didn't want Boocifer to get hurt anymore than what he already went through so I told them to go." She pauses.

"How did you know that they wouldn't kill you?" I ask.

"Humans don't tend to kill other humans unless they're really sick and twisted." She shrugs. "Ally confirmed that the ghost hunters were human so I took a chance. Worst case scenario was that they would leave me for dead. That seemed to get Boocifer moving but not without some protesting."

"I see. What happened after, my dear?" I question. "Your story matches with Boocifer's so far, but what happened when he left?"

"I passed out and woke up in a small room. I wondered around a little bit until I found three men. I assumed that they were the ghost hunters and I think that I was right."

"Were they all shorter than you? And were two of them wearing green and red?"

"Yes, actually. I think they said that their name were Mario and Luigi. The third man was definitely older, he told me to call him the Professor."

"The Mario Brothers and Elvin Gadd." I sigh, shaking my head. "Of course you ran into them."

"I had to lie through my teeth because I didn't know if they were actually nice of just wanting to know were Ally and Boocifer went. The Professor and Luigi bought it but Mario was very suspicious of me." She rubs Snare's vines. "Don't get me wrong, it was very nice of them to patch me up. But I needed to get out of there, so when they started asking too many questions, Snare and I ran." She pauses. "Well, Snare carried me but I'm sure you knew that." She scratches her chin. "That's about the time Mr. Riel, Maya, Charlie, and John found me."

"Mr. Riel?" I chuckle.

"Yes, he was so formal and I asked if he wanted me to call him Mr. Riel since he was much more comfortable with that. It's also weird to me when someone is on a first name basis with someone else but the other isn't..." She trails off. "Does that make sense?"

"Yes, it does." I laugh while nodding. "You didn't want him to call you by your last name while you called him Louis. I understand." I look towards Boocifer. "You have been awfully silent, my friend. Tell us, what's on your mind?" Boocifer jumps just a little.

"Oh, my apologies, Your Majesty. I'm just trying to figure out where Adam is..." He trails off. "I need him to help fulfill the promise I made to you, Y/N." He turns to her, smiling.

"I am so sorry, Boocifer. But I can't seem to remember the promise you made me... All I know is that it was something really important." Y/N looks down.

Boocifer smiles gently to Y/N. "Worry not, I understand. You lost a lot of blood so your memory must be fuzzy. Allow me to remind you. I said that I would help you find the surviving royal family member of your country."

"That's right! I remember you said that you knew the old King." Y/N's eyes light up with excitement. I can't help but smile at the joyous woman. It almost breaks my metaphorical heart having to tell her where Adam went.

"I hate to be the barer of bad new but, Adam recently left for Elemiras." I see their faces slowly fall.

"If you don't mind me asking, sire... Why?" Boocifer questions.

"As you know, Boocifer, Boos have been disappearing around Elemiras' borders. I had Maya write up a letter to the King of Elemiras and Adam volunteered to take it himself." I can easily see Y/N tense up, a flash of wrath crosses her face.

"But he despises the King... why would he go deliver a letter to him?" Boocifer has the most baffled look on his face.

"He insisted. I think it might have something to do with his daughter." I turn towards Y/N. "Y/N, you may stay here to recover while you wait for Adam." She doesn't move. All she does is staring at the floor, seemingly lost in thought. "Y/N?"

"Sorry, Your Majesty!" She jumps. "I was terribly lost in thought." She stutters out. "Thank you very much."

I motion Boocifer over to me while Y/N grips on to Snare, lost in thought once again. "Take her to the spare room with the balcony to the garden. I have a feeling she will appreciate the view."

"Yes, sir. And thank you for helping her." Boocifer smiles.

Boocifer and Snare help Y/N stand up. They all bow to leave the room. Y/N looks at her barely touched tea cup.

"Just bring it with you along with the blanket, my dear." She looks up at me. Her eyes are glossy and distant.

She must be think of some unpleasant memories.

"Just leave the tea cup on the table next to the bed when you're done." I let go of my tea cup, letting it float in the air. All she does is nods. "And Boocifer?" He turns just before they go through the door. "Please send Maya to me. I have some business I need to take care of."

"Yes, sir." Boocifer nods.

"Thank you again for your hospitality, Your Majesty." Y/N seems to have recovered slightly.

"You're very welcome, my dear. Now go and get some rest." I smile gently at her. They leave, the door clicking into place behind them.

What a strange young woman... I stand and snap my fingers, getting the chairs to disappear. I watch the tea cup float in the air. I want to help her. Not only because she helped Boocifer but simply because she needs help... who am I trying to convince? I scold myself. I can't focus on my reasoning right now, I need to get those letters out. I float towards my throne. I need to send a letter to the native people of this land asking if we can use one of their Angel's Lily petals... I also need to get someone to send a letter to the Professor. It's about time I apologized.

"Sire? You called for me?" I jump.

"Maya! My apologies, dear friend, you caught me lost in my own mind." I take a seat in my throne.

"Not a problem, Sire." She smiles brightly. "What can I do for you?"


	13. Y/N

He's in Elemiras? What are we going to do if he gets captured? If they use him as a power source?!

"Y/N!" Boocifer shouts. We've obviously been walking for quite some time, the hallway we're in doesn't look anything like the one by the throne room. It'smuch smaller with a few chairs and a table. There is a long red carpet going a cross the floor. "Y/N!" Boocifer repeats.

"Sorry." I sigh.

"It's quite alright, you just seem really distracted. Is everything alright?" He looks at me, his concern evident. Snare also gripped my waist tighter as if to reassure me.

"I guess I still need to wrap my head around things... I mean, the previous king, Adam I think, he's in Elemiras. What if he doesn't make it back? How will we find the heir?" I start to panic.

Snare takes one of his vines and grips my hand trying to get me to calm down. Boocifer rushes closer to me and takes my other hand. "Deep breaths, Y/N. Take deep breaths. In through your nose and out through your mouth." Boocifer reassures me. I take a deep breath in and then out. In and out, in and out.

"Thank you, you two. I feel a bit better." I sigh and force a smile, trying to hide my worry.

"Listen to me, Y/N. Adam will come back, he's much more cunning than you give him credit for." Boocifer, still holding my hand, starts to lead us down the hall. "He might me going to see her." Says under his breath.

"Who?" I ask.

"His descendants." Boocifer says simply. "His daughter was the one who survived all those years ago. He might have gone to see her children, or great-grandchildren for that matter."

"I see, so they live in Elemiras..." I trail off. "I guess it would be easier to hide in plain sight."

Boocifer continues. "Adam told the council only that his daughter was able to escape. Although, he did tell us that she was almost fatally injured. He told us that she was covered in blood, and some of it wasn't her's." It's obvious that he's trying to distract me. In all honesty, it's helping. "We call her Bloody Mary."

"Her name was Mary?"

"No, we were never told her name, but Bloody Mary seems appropriate, does it not?" He gives me a toothy grin.

"Yes, yes it does." I smile softly. We stop in front of a dark oak door. And then my body finally realizes how tired I really am. My legs collapse under my weight. Luckily Snare is right there to catch me.

"Are you alright?!" Boocifer starts to panic.

"Could be better..." Snare lifts me and puts me on his back. "I have been running on adrenaline for a while."

"When was the last time you slept?" Boocifer asks.

"Define sleep."

"A good night's sleep." Boocifer looks at me unamused. "A full eight hours."

"Three weeks ago..?" I question myself. "I've had a few power naps here and there but most of the time I've practically been sleeping with one eye open..." I shrug, feeling my eyes dropping.

"That's horrible! Why?!" I open my mouth but Boocifer cuts me off. "Don't answer that, we need to get you cleaned up first. Save your strength." Boocifer opens the door and motions Snare and I to come in. "This is your room while you stay with us."

I look around the room, trying to take everything in while I'm ready to pass out. There is a large King Size bed to the left and giant windows straight in front of us. "It's wonderful, thank you."

"There is also a a balcony so you can look at the garden." Boocifer watches me as my smile grows.

"I'm going to have to thank the King again. This is amazing."

All of a sudden, six spirits rush into the room. I recognize one of them as Jane from earlier.

"Hello, young lady! I hope you're fairing better." Jane smiles at me.

"Unfortunately, I can't say that I am. My body is finally catching up to my insomnia." I laugh.

"Well we better be quick then." One spirit floats up to me. All of them appear to be women. The one who approached me has beautiful brown skin and eyes. Her hair is dark brown and is has slight curls in it. She was dressed in a golden, regal gown. It perfectly complements her skin tone. "My name is Katherine Of Aragon." She speaks with a very evident Spanish accent.

"Hello, I'm Y/N." I say.

"Boocifer!" A very french voice squeaks at him. "You must leave immediately! We need to get her in the bath we drew." She is wearing a emerald green dress with a square sort of neck line. It has sprinkles of gold around the hem. Her light brown hair is straight and runs down to her lower back. Around her neck is a black choker.

"Anne, calm down." A British Spirit touches her arm. She was dressed in a very similar dress to Anne, but instead of green and gold, the colours are pink and silver. She's also wearing a black choker. "Hello, I'm Kathrine Howard but you can call me Kate. And this," she gestures to Anne. "is Anne Bolelyn."

"Hello, it's nice to meet you." I say.

"Come on, let's get you into the tub." Another British Spirit comes up to me and takes my hand. She is wearing a royal blue dress with little arm puffs at the shoulders. The hem of the dress is black. She has her large brown curls tied up. "We need to get you cleaned up before you sleep." She smiles. "Oh, I'm Kathrine Parr, by the way. You can call me Kathy."

"Okay." I nod.

Anne suddenly breaks from Kate's grasp and flies over to Boocifer. "Listen, Boocifer!" Anne starts to push him towards the door. "We need you out right now!"

"You don't need to be so forceful. If Y/N wishes for me to leave, then I will." He manages to get away from Anne just long enough to look at me. Anne jumps for him but Snare is obviously done with her and snags her ankle.

"Snare!" I try to hold back my laughter. "Please let her go."

Everyone else is just snickering at the entire situation. Snare gives me a nudge.

"If you wouldn't mind Boocifer, a bath sounds wonderful and I do need to undress. Would you please leave us for now?" I ask.

"Of course I can." He smiles. "I know you are in..." he looks at and, who is trying to get out of Snare's hold by kicking and screaming. "fairly good hands." He turns to leave as Snare slowly let's go of Anne. Boocifer opens the door and in rushes yet another Spirit.

I still have the other Spirit's name I need to learn, now him?!

The Spirit in question is a very... rounded man. He is dressed lake a king... gold and everything, just no crown. The other Spirits in the room give him the deadliest glare I have ever seen. If looks could kill, this man would be dead six times over.

"So you're the mortal?" He gives me one up and down look. "Pitiful."

"Henry," I flinch at the name. "that isn't how we should treat our guests." King Boo comes strolling in and starts scolding Henry like a mother to a young child. Then he turns to me and I try, emphasis on try, to curtsy. "Terribly sorry for the intrusion, ladies. We'll be right out of your hair."

"I want to know why an Elemental is here! She and her kind are traitors and should be executed!" Henry screams and I frown.

Twice in two days? Are you kidding me?!

"Henry! That's enough, she hasn't done anything but help. Now shut it and get out!" The last Spirit shouted. She is quite obviously German. She has short black hair and is wearing a beautiful red dress with gold trim.

"No I will not, Anne!" He's yelling so much that his face is turning red. "She will destroy us all! We must behead her!"

There's the adrenaline that I've been running on.

"Oh! Another beheading? How fun." I sneer. Everyone looks towards me. "Two for two, huh, Snare?" I look to him. "Listen, Henry, correct?"

"Yes and I will not-"

"I'm going to stop you right there. You have absolutely no evidence supporting that I would hurt any Boo or Spirit alike. Quite the opposite in fact. Besides, what's the point of a beheading if I'm already dying right now?"

"You aren't dying." Boocifer chuckles uncomfortably.

"I've lost a lot of blood, Boocifer. It's only a matter of time."

"We plan to make sure that you have time to live, my dear." The King smiles gently. "Now, let's let the ladies get on with their business." He turns to Henry, an aggressive smile on his face.

"Yes, sir." Henry chirps.

"Aw, he sounds like a small puppy." The red Anne teases as the men leave the room. "By the way, kind, you can call me Anna. I prefer Anna." She turns to me.

As soon as the door clicks, my legs give out. Snare was able to catch me again, luckily. The ladies rush around me.

"There goes the adrenaline." I giggle as they look at me with concern.

"Are you okay, kind?" Anna grabs my arm and helps me up. "That was awesome but, you shouldn't exert yourself like that."

"Especially with your injuries." Jane floats up to me, her yellow hair falling gracefully around her shoulders. She's carrying a simple white dress. "Come on, let's get you out of... that." She gestures to the rags that I'm wearing. "Snare, right? Could you please hold her so she's on her feet? We need to undress her." Snare lifted me and grabbed on to my rags and easily ripped them off my body. Too easily.

I cover up my chest with my arms, a little panicked but very surprised. "Snare! You couldn't have given me a warning?!" I blush from embarrassment. Snare takes his vines and uses them to cover me up.

"I mean, it works." Katherine snickers and goes over to the ripped rags. "This has to be the flimsiest clothing I have ever seen." She picks the pile up and inspects it as Jane leads Snare and I over to a door that I didn't notice before.

"Come on, we need to get you cleaned before the water gets too cold." She smiles at me. We walk into the bathroom and it is the most luxurious bathroom I have ever seen. It has very beautiful, ornate mirror with a matching sink and toilet. And the tub! It is the biggest soaking tub I have ever seen!

You could fit three people in that thing. I stare.

"In you go, dear." Jane lightly pushes me towards the tub. Snare lifts me into the air and sets me down right in the middle of the tub. The water feels so nice and refreshing. I have now idea what Jane meant by it getting too cold. This is perfect, I feel like I could fall asleep here and now. Snare wont let that happen though. His vine is still wrapped around me to keep me up right.

The other Spirits come flooding into the bathroom to help however they can. As soon as they see my back they gasp.

"That's much worse than we thought, Queens..." I can hear Anne say.

"Well, let's get to it, shall we?" Kathy floats up to me, soap in her hand. She starts to wash my back, being very careful with my lashes. "Sorry, honey, this'll only take a minute." She sooths me.

The other Queens got to work too. They all start to surround me and wash me head to toe. I object quite a few times but they insisted that they take care of it. Otherwise, it is mostly silent in the room. I try to keep my heavy eyes from falling when Jane gets up, pouring a bucket of water over my head.

Where did she get that? I wonder.

"There you go, dear. All clean." She looks at the other Queens as Anna grabs a purple towel.

"All we have to do is dry you off, Kind." Anna says.

Snare lifts me out of the water and the Queens, now each of them having acquired towels, start to dry me off. I look towards the bath water and see how dirty it is. There is dirt, leaves, and a lot of blood in that water. It's hard to believe that all that was on my body.

"Now we just need to get you in a night gown!" Kate jumps excitedly. She grabs my arm and leads Snare and I out of the bathroom. The room is much darker than earlier. I turn to look at the windows and, low and behold, the curtains are closed. Only a little bit of light is poking through. The main light source that's in here is a few candelabras.

Before I know it, a white night gown is thrown over my head. It's simple, long sleeves with a few frills at the end and a neck line that just goes past my collar bone. The night gown goes right past my knees. In all honesty, I kind of feel like that one chick in Pirates of the Caribbean when she goes to bed the night before the Black Pearl attacks her home.

"Now, off to bed." Katherine pushes me over to the large four post bed. It has dark purple sheets and lavender silk curtains that lay on top of the posts. The pillows are huge and, like almost everything in this room, purple. Purple is a lovely colour, but can't we have some variety?

I climb into bed, not with out a little help from Snare of course, and lie down.

Damn it! I have to sleep on my stomach. I sigh. So long comfort, I need to sleep on my tits tonight.

"Is that comfortable enough, for you?" Jane asks.

"Absolutely!" I sigh into the pillow. I don't think I'll have to worry about my uncomfortable breasts anymore tonight. "This is perfect. Thank you all so much for everything you've done." I lift my hand towards Snare.

Snare takes my hand and shrinks into a little ball of knots the size of my palm. He then crawls up my arm and takes the second pillow next to me.

"Pour thing's just as exhausted as you." Anne giggles with the rest of the Queens. "We'll let you be now." She smiles. "Have a good sleep!" They all leave the room, closing the door softly as they go.

"I don't think it'll be so bad here, Snare." I whisper. "I just hope Rowan and baba are alright..." is the last thing I say before I fall into a dreamless sleep.


	14. King Boo

Quick note before you read! The natives in this story are FICTIONAL! I made them up. I will admit, I based some of their characteristics on First Nations and Tanzanian people. Everything else is strictly fiction. If some content is worded in an offensive way, please let me know. I don't want to offend anyone here. (If you could please show me a better way of phrasing, that would be great!) Also, characteristics won't really be described until the next chapter because King Boo already knows what they look like. You, dear reader do not.  
Happy Reading!

~~~

"What in the Underworlds were you thinking?" I scold Henry VIII. "She has done nothing but help us." I hiss.

We are walking through the hall, away from Y/N's room and to my study

"I don't trust her, Sire! She could be a spy." He tries to defend himself.

"From where?! Elemiras?" Boocifer snaps. "She is almost dead because of wounds that they gave her!"

"It could be an act!" Henry VIII.

"SHE WAS ON THE VIRGE OF DEATH WHEN I LEFT HER IN THAT FOREST!" Boocifer yells, red in the face.

We make it to my study and I open the door, letting the screaming ghosts in. Looking towards the clock, I rub the sides of my head.

11:45... This is going to be a long day... I sigh. Letting them run themselves out would be the best course of action. I take a seat behind my desk as the two's bickering goes on.

"I don't care, Boocifer! She could be the downfall of the dead!"

"Then why would she save me?!"

"To try and get close to the King!"

"Now you're not making any sense! How could she have known that I'm the King's right hand man?" That seemed to shut Henry VIII up. But Boocifer isn't done yet. "What's more, she had opportunity after opportunity to leave me wherever and I would have been to weak to get away from their soldiers. Instead, she carried me, putting my safety before hers! Y/N is a hero and my friend!"

"What about the mist?" Now Henry's just grasping at straws. I shake my head. "She could have just been using you to get through the mist!" He has an air of triumph around him when he says this.

"Oh, you mean the mist she didn't know about?!" Boocifer's voice just grows louder and louder.

"That's enough you two." I cut in before this starts to get too long. They immediately stop their bickering and look to me. "I will admit, I am just a little suspicious of Y/N, we can't trust her completely. But-" I give Henry a glare. "That doesn't mean that she is here to hurt us. She is also our guest, we must show her that she is welcome here so she can open up."

"We might not have that much time, Sire! She could be gone by tomorrow." Henry tries to sway me.

"So our best course of action is beheading her?!" I raise my voice. "I think you've forgotten what era it is, Henry." I pause and take a breath. "She has obviously been to Hell and back. She mentioned that that would be a second beheading... Although, I'm not quite sure what she meant."

Boocifer has a very concerned look on his face. "I think her people were planing on executing her..."

"All the more reason she is a danger! Her own people don't want her alive!"

"You just contradicted yourself, Henry." Boocifer points put, a smile plastered on his face. "She can't be a spy of Elemiras if she was on death row. Therefore, she isn't a danger to us!"

"Boocifer has a point. Why would she spy on us for a 'traitorous group' if they don't want her alive?"

Before Henry can continue arguing, Jane flies in. "Hello, sire! I have some updates about Y/N for you, it is quite late, so my apologies." She smiles.

"It's quite alright, Jane. Thank you." I look towards the clock.

These two have been bickering for an hour? My eyes widen.

"Is something wrong, Your Majesty?" Jane walks over to my desk, concern etched on her face.

"Yes, just surprised on how much the time flew." I reassure her. "How is Y/N doing?"

"She fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow." Jane gleams. "Although, her wounds are much worse than we feared." She bows her head. "Her back is in ribbons and I swear, if it weren't for the stitches, she would fall a part."

"Is there anything else we can do for her?" Boocifed asks quickly.

"Unfortunately, I don't think so... her back is also terribly infected. My best guess is that she only has a few more days..." Jane starts to tear up.

"No..." Boccifer goes pale.

"We can't give up hope yet. There may not be anything we can do. But the Natives have an Angel's Lily. Y/N can still be saved."

"You contacted them, Sire?" Boocifer glances at me.

"Yes, I had Maya write a letter to them. I asked her to write a formal apology and a request to use a petal of their Lily." I sigh. "Hopefully, they answer soon."

"Hopefully indeed." Boocifer agrees. And with that, the room fell into silence. Even though Henry won't admit it, he is worried as well. This poor woman is on her death bed and there isn't anything we can do.

"Bah! I can't just sit here and wait for her to die." Boocifer breaks the silence. "She probably hasn't eaten in a while. Your Majesty," Boocifer turns towards me. "may I please ask some of the chefs to make her some food?"

"Yes, of course." I reply.

"Have them make her broth at first." Jane cuts in. "It's bad for a body to eat so much at once after eating next to nothing. Broth is the best option for her right now."

"I'll get right to it. Thank you." It's unclear who he is thanking, Boocifer just ran out.

"Is broth really the best option for her?" I ask Jane.

"Yes, that's what was done for the starved when I was alive. Too much food could make her even more sick."

I simply nod my head in understanding.

"I'm still apprehensive about this girl." Henry states.

"Yes, Henry, you've made that quite clear..." I sigh.

"What was that about back in Y/N's room? You don't even know the girl and you were accusing her of treachery."

"It's necessary for the kingdom." Henry straighten up.

"Oh, like how you beheaded Anne and Kate 'for the good of the kingdom'?" Jane crosses her arms and raises an eyebrow.

Henry stared as I brought my hand to my mouth, trying to contain my laughter.

"No, not like that at all." Henry tries to compose himself. "That woman could be a danger to the King."

"Like how Katherine was a danger because she was your brother's wife?" Jane doesn't miss a beat.

I can't help but snicker.

"Everything you've ever done has been for your own gain or simply because you could." Jane continues. "You are a child so don't you dare use those excuses on me."

"Alright, you two." I stop Henry before he can speak. "As entertaining as that was, you should stop before anyone else's pride ends up in the gutter." I chuckle.

"Your Majesty!" Katherine bursts in.

"Yes? What is it?" I ask.

"Avery's here! With the chief of his tribe!" Katherine states.

I stand up immediately.

"Where are they?"

"Walking up the path to the manor. We need to get you to the throne room, sir!"

"No." Everyone turns to look at me as I move around my desk. "I will greet them at the door myself. I do not want them to travel any further than they need to. They must be tired and, if they so choose to grant my request, it is much faster for them to get to Y/N through the foyer instead of the throne room." I state, making my way out of my office.

"Very well, Sire." Katherine follows me, along with Henry and Jane. "Jane and I will go tell Boocifer the news. I'm sure he can help." 

"Yes! We'll go get him, Sire." Jane and Katherine, Katherine didn't acknowledge Henry's presence the entire time. Says quite a bit about their relationship if you ask me.

"Alright, Henry. Let's get going." I sigh, as I start to walk down the hall way.

"With all due respect, Your Majesty. Why not let her die?" He stupidly asks.

"Because she has done us a great service. We owe her this much." I pause. "But, I suppose her fate is now in the hands of Avery and his tribe. We can not force them to give Y/N the petal, they will chose if she lives or dies."

Henry stays silent for a little then, "Why?"

"I beg your pardon?" 

"Why is her fate in their hands?" 

"Because you can only use an Angel's Lily so many times. One petal along can keep one victim on the verge of death alive. But that petal will never grow back." We walk down the staircase into the foyer. The fountain is making a soft trickling sound as water runs down the small cheep cheep statue.

Just as Henry and I reach the bottom of the stars, the door bursts open. In storms the Chief of the Sho'honen tribe. Following him is Avery, the tribe's main doctor. Chief Potamalu, or Evan, is masking his rage fairly well. He doesn't look happy about being here and I can't blame him.

"Chief Potamalu, thank you for coming. I understand that our alliance hasn't been on the best of standards but I am in dire need of your help." I greet him.

"This better be for a good reason, King Boo. We are not letting you use our petals for torturing a traitor." The Chief says sternly.

"Actually, that could-" I elbow Henry before he could finish that thought.

"No, sir." I simply say.

"Than what are you going to use it for?" Avery speaks up. "What could the Boos need this petal for? It doesn't heal you, so why?" I only just notice the box that he is carrying. Square, black, and fairly large, it quite obviously holds the Angel's Lily.

"You see, there-" 

"Before you answer that," the Chief cut me off. "why should we help you? You've made alliances with our enemies and closed off Evershade Valley to my people. Your ignorance has put my people in danger of King Bomb Omb and Lord Drybones. We were at their mercy because of you!" His rage is clear, but he is not done. "And you did all this for what? For greed? Vengeance? What is so important that you needed to sacrifice lives that have already lost wars?"

I kneel down and bow my head to Chief Potamalu and Avery. "I know now how my actions have affected you and your people, I have not been a good King for any of my people either. I know apologizing alone won't work, still I am so terribly sorry. I hope that someday you and your people will find it in your hearts to forgive me." The room stays silent before I continue. "I require that petal to save a young woman from death. She has done us Boos and Spirits a grand favor and saving her life is the least we can do."

After some time, the Chief finally speaks. "Please stand, Your Majesty. I see now that you were not yourself when these incidences occurred." I stand, my head still bowed and my right hand over my chest. "Now, you said that there is a woman?"

"Yes, she is on the verge of death. She saved Boocifer and brought valuable information about the extent of how unwelcome Boos have become in Elemiras." I nod.

"Take me to her." Avery says. He is not asking.

"Well, you heard him. Let's go." Chief Potamalu gestures to me.

"Why isn't the leader saying whether or not that flower can save her." I stare at Henry, dumbfounded.

"Because this leader trusts his subjects and the keeper of the Angel's Lily." the Chief responds. "Now, again, let's go."

"Yes, of course. This way please." I lead them up the stairs to Y/N's room when we here a thud and a shout.

"Y/N!"


	15. Y/N

Cold. That's all I can feel.

I'm aware that I'm cold. But I'm not awake.

Wait.

There's heat. In my back.

"...Y/N..." I can hear a voice.

"Y/N... please wake up."

"Boocifer..?" I groan. I open my eyes and try to blink away my exhaustion. "What are you doing here?"

"Just trying to nourish you." I can see him smile, although he's blurry. It looks like he's holding something. A bowl maybe?

I laugh a little. "You make it sound like... I'm your pet..." I start coughing. I feel Boocifer fly to my side and Snare wrapping himself around my wrist.

"Are you alright?" Boocifer asks.

My coughing subsides as I nod. "Yes, I should be fine." I lie, smiling.

Boocifer doesn't look convinced. "Alright, if you say so..." He sighs. He lifts the bowl with a light brown liquid inside. "I brought you some broth to help with your recovery. Jane told me that broth is the best for a starving human." Snare helps me sit up as Boocifer brings the spoon up to my mouth. "Here, open up."

I open my mouth so Boocifer can feed me.

Well, this is demining. I sigh, swallowing the broth.

We sit in almost complete silence for a while. Only the sound of the spoon hitting the bowl can be heard. My stomach growls loudly.

So hungry... I could eat a house. I grab the bowl from Boocifer and down the contents. Boocifer looks at me, shocked as he slowly takes the bowl from me.

"I'm sorry." I apologize. "I'm just so hungry..." I look down, the world starts to spin.

Boocifer puts a hand on my shoulder and gives me a friendly smile. "I understand. If you don't mind me asking, when was the last time you had a sustainable meal?"

"About three days ago... that's about when they started to starve me." I say that last part under my breath.

"Three days?! How poorly did they treat you?"

"You have no idea..." I force another smile.

"I'll be sure to bring you something more sustainable later, but you should go back to sleep soon." Boocifer sighs.

"I just want to use the toilet quickly, if you don't mind..." I use my hands to prop myself up. Snare grows enough to be able to carry me and wraps one of his vines around my hips.

"That shouldn't be a problem." Boocifer goes to one side and takes my arm.

Snare and Boocifer help me stand up. Unfortunately, the world spins once again as I stumble a little bit.

"Are you alright?" Boocifer holds me up along with Snare. Or Snare is holding me up? I can't really tell anymore.

"Yeah, I'll be okay." I have never lied that much in a few days.

"Are you sure." He looks at me skeptically.

"Yes. I am. I'm still just a little tired." I successfully take a step while shaking like a leaf. "...Could you guys please let go for a second?" I ask, stupidly might I add. "I want to try and take a few steps on my own."

Reluctantly, they both let go of me. But Snare's vines were right behind me, ready to catch me if I fell. I take a breath and slowly take a step forward. It hurts. A lot. But I can keep going. I take a few more steps as Snare and Boocifer watch me. Boocifer has a soft smile on his face when I turn to look at them. I turn back to the bathroom door, it isn't too far away now. Just a few more feet. I take another step as my vision starts to go dark.

No. No. No. Not now. I panic a little. All I can feel is the searing pain coming from my back when I finally fall to the floor. Snare didn't catch me that time. I slam into the ground, weak from everything. My vision fades by the millisecond. Finally it goes black.

My vision fades in and out. I feel like the world is moving in slow motion.

When I open my eyes, everything is fuzzy. I can see Boocifer and Snare in front of me, trying to get me to respond. But I can't hear him, not well at least. I can see Boocifer's mouth moving but it's all so fuzzy. The door slams open and I blink.

The King is holding my face. There are three people behind him. The King turns and shouts something at someone and then turns to the people standing behind him. One of them is holding something black. A weird box? I blink.

Someone is kneeling in front of me. I can't recognize them but they have darker skin. They're opening the box and pull out something glowing blue. I blink.

The person is about to pull something from the glowing thing when I put my hand on their arm.

My vision finally clears up when I focus on the glowing thing. An Angel's Lily. It is missing a few petals. Normally, Angel's Lilys have five petals, this one only has three.

They don't know the incantation.

"Save... the petal..." I croak.

"You need it... dying." I barely make out the words of the person in front of me.

"Incantation... song... Don't need... petals." I inch my hand to the Lily. "Please... let me... try." I plead.

The person takes my hand and sets the Angel's Lily next to my head. They set my hand gently down and, I assume everyone, starts to watch me. I raise my hand up to the petals of the flower and gently graze a petal. I start to sing.

"Flower, gleams and glow  
Let your power shine,  
Make the clock reverse,  
Bring back what once was mine.  
Heal what has been hurt,  
Change the fate's design,  
Save what has been lost,  
Bring back what once was mine,  
What once was mine."

My voice fades as the Angel's Lily glows bright. Someone gasps as I feel the muscle, nerves, and tissue in my back start to knit together. The relief I feel, it's so soothing. I can feel my energy return to me as my fever dissipates. I feel my muscles getting stronger and I push myself up into a sitting position. Finally, my vision clears up and I can see everyone clearly.

The person right in front of me is a young man, he can't be any older than me. His skin is a dark shade of brown. His high cheek bones accent his large brown eyes. His hair is a sleek black and goes down to his collar bone. He also has a little bit of stubble. He has the universal medical symbol around his neck.

Must be a doctor.

Boocifer has tears in his eyes and the King was looking at me fascination. Snare snakes around me and holds me in a death grip sort of hug.

"Snare! You're going to squeeze the life out of me!" I shout, giggling a little bit. Snare slowly loosens his grip but he never let's go completely.

"May I please examine you? To make sure you're fully healed." The man in front of me asks. "I may need to pull down the neck line of the night gown to see, or lift it up..." he seems embarrassed.

"Yes, of course. Do what you need to." I smile, feeling like my old self again.

As the man walks around me to examine my back, the King walks up to me and kneels down.

"How are you feeling?" He asks carefully.

"So much better. I feel like those thirty lashes never happened." I grin like a child.

"Thirty?!" Boocifer, the King, Henry, and the other figure, who is an older man, look at me with shock.

"You had thirty lashes, young lady?" The older man came up to me, concern etched in his face. His skin tone is the same shade as the young man examining me. This older man is dressed up in a fairly nice looking suit with some military pins over his heart. He has a very square jaw and strong cheek bones, but it is a little hard to tell due to his wrinkles. His hair is a black with a few gray strands. He is wearing a head piece with feathers and beads all with beautiful different colours. "Why did someone lashe you so?"

"If it's alright with you, I'm not too comfortable with sharing that at the moment." I shiver from the memory and the cold air hitting my back.

"Well I hope you're willing to answer what on Earth that was." The doctor lightly touches my skin, tracing where my lashes were. "Not only are your wounds healed, but there is no trace of them actually being there!"

"What?" Henry rushes over to my back to take a look himself. "You're right, not even a scar..."

If only I could see the look on his face. I grin at the thought.

"Well, it is an Angel's Lily. Isn't that what it's supposed to do?" The King asks.

"I've never seen results like this before! So again, young lady, what on Earth was that?!"

I giggle a little bit. "It's an incantation. The incantation that both summons and uses the Angel's Lily." I smile back to him. "You can use this incantation to heal just about anything and in any language. As long as the lyrics are as close to the original Latin verse as possible."

"How do you know it?" Boocifer seems to have recovered.

"Remember that book I told you about? The one with the Devil's Snare summoning spell?" He nods. "This incantation was in that book too."

"Of course..." Boocifer shakes his head, chuckling a little.

"Was there anything else in this book of your's?" The King asks.

"All sorts of things!" I smile excitedly as I stand. "There are so many different techniques and sub-elements that have been forgotten for at least a century!" I pace around the room waving my hands as everyone looks at me, probably entertained. "And here's the thing: Elemiras has always known about that incantation! We were just taught that it only summons the Angel's Lily instead of also unlocking it's healing properties!"

I hear this booming laughter and turn around to face the source. It's the King. He's standing with his arms crossed over his chest and his head thrown back. Now, I've heard that Boos cackle but this wasn't cackling. This laughter was almost melodic, and deep too. I could just listen to it for hours, I am captivated.

"My, my. You are very passionate about this aren't you, my dear?" Much to my dismay, his laughter dies down. But he is still wearing a joyful smile.

I nod my head and giggle a little. "Yes. We've lost so much knowledge and regaining some of it is extraordinary!"

"So you are from Elemiras? That's how you know about the Angel's Lily." The doctor says.

Again, I nod. "I thought the Devil's Snare would have... wait, were did he go?" Snare was no where to be found. "Snare? Where are you?" I look around the room. I suddenly feel my hair getting tugged. "Ow!"

Boocifer starts snickering and Henry bursts out laughing. The two humans are obviously holding in their laughter and the King is smiling and shaking his head.

So that's were he is... I chuckle and I grab the smaller braid of vines around my waist and pull. He let's go and wraps himself in a little ball about the size of my palm. "Little imp." I tease.

I look back towards everyone and realize something. "I'm sorry, but I haven't asked what your names are..." I tell the two humans, embarrassed.

"It's quite alright, young lady." The older man smiles. "I am Chief Potamalu of the Sho'honen tribe. And this is our tribe's doctor and keeper of the Angel's Lily, Avery."

"It's a pleasure to meet you." Avery smiles. "And before you say anything about my chest. I am a man." He sighs, a little annoyed.

"Avery..." the Chief sighs.

I look at his chest and the puzzle pieces start to fall into place. "Oh, your transgender?" He nods. "Ok. And if I'm going to be honest with you, I thought you were a guy anyway. " I shrug.

"Really?" He asks.

"Yeah, I mean you look like you're far enough along in your transition to look really masculine. I had to take a close look at you to see it and even then, your clothes cover it up really nicely." I smile.

"Thanks, I really needed to hear that..." he smiles back.

"Terribly sorry to ruin the moment, but Y/N?" King Boo steps in. "If you're feeling up to it, would describe the situation in Elemiras to me? Not just for Boos and Spirits, but for Elemantals such as yourself."

I sigh, my mood dropping. Why does he want to know? I look up at the King. Then again, having more allies could help us.

"Alrigh, Sire. I will explain as much as I can to the best of my ability." I force a smile. The little twinkle of joy in his eye fades, as if he could tell I'm faking it. I feel a little sad seeing that twinkle go.

"Are sure? You seem uneasy." The King asks.

"Yes, I'm sure. I want to finally speak out about what's happening back home." I say confidently, loosing the smile.

"But first," Boocifer interjects. "I'm positive that flower can stop hunger. Could this talk wait until Y/N's had something to eat?"

"I don't see why not." The King smiles. Then his eyes light up. "I have an idea. How about you tell your story over diner? With my council and I, of course!" He finishes quickly, a light tint of pink is dusting his cheeks. "Until then, so your eating schedule isn't..." He pauses, thinking. "Unconventional."

"That sounds good." I nod. "Thank you, Your Majesty." I turn to Chief Potamalu and Avery. "And thank you both for taking time out of your busy schedule to help." I smile and bow to them.

"You're very welcome, young lady." The Chief grins. "We must get going but, if you won't mind, would you please write the incantation for the Angel's Lily? You don't need to now, but when you've recovered. We want to prevent using petals as much as possible."

"I would love to!" I clap my hands together. "Oh! You should also know that the person in need of healing has to sing it, otherwise it won't work."

"That's very helpful, thank you." Avery puts the Angel's Lily in the black box that I saw earlier.

"Thank you, again. For everything." King Boo bows to them. "Allow me to see you off." They all leave the room, all but Henry.

Not good. Not good. Not good!

He stalks over to me, Snare gets ready to pounce if I give the signal. Henry stands in front of me, staring me down for a minute.

"I don't like you." He states.

"Obviously." I roll my eyes.

That seems to piss him off. "Listen here! You better have eyes in the back of your head if you ever want to leave here alive, got it?"

"Yes, sir." I say with a hint of sarcasm. Henry doesn't seem to catch it and floats out of the room all dignified. Snare relaxes when he leaves our sight.

"Wow," I sigh. "His insults are about as good as a three year old's."


	16. King Boo

5:45. I read the clock. She should be here soon.

I am sitting at the diner table with my council, it's a fairly large round table with enough space for 10 people to sit comfortably. Everything is set nicely, from the table cloth to the candelabras, it looks perfect. All we need to do is wait for Y/N.

"What is taking her so long?" Henry says, irritated.

"We just sat down, Henry." Louis tries to calm Henry down. "Besides, the child almost died today. Let her take her time."

"And you know we can't eat, except for the King and Boocifer of course. We won't starve." Maya states.

"I don't even need to eat, anyway. She can take all the time she needs." I grin.

Then, there is a knock at the door. "Your Majesty? May we come in?" It's Anne Bolelyn.

"Yes, of course." I reply.

The double doors swing open and reveal the six Queens that took care of Y/N earlier.

"Hello, Ladies. What can we do for you?" I ask. Well this is unexpected. What are they doing here?

"You see, Your Majesty," Boocifer speaks up. "I asked them to help Y/N with anything she needed."

"That includes fashion choices!" Kate squeals.

"May we introduce," Katherine bows with the other Queens. "Lady Y/N L/N!"

They all step a side like curtains to a play and, without thinking, I stand up. My eyes wide with shock. There's Y/N, standing there in an elegant green dress. Golden vine and leaf designs cover the bodice and the top of the skirt. The off the shoulder sleeves match the bodice and skirt perfectly. A large golden necklace is around her neck, gracefully resting on her collar bone. Her hair is done up in a loose bun and she has golden makeup, although subtle, it makes her eyes stand out.

I walk around the table and towards Y/N, not taking my eyes off her. She looks a little shocked as I make my way to her.

What am I doing?

"Ms. L/N," I take her by the hand and kiss the back of it. "Thank you for agreeing to discuss things over diner with my council and I."

She seems speechless as she just stares at me, a light blush on her face. "Um. Thank you for having me, Your Highness." She does a small curtsy.

Her hans still in mine, I lead her over to the table. Her hand feels so soft and delicate. I only let go once we get to the table.

If only it was further away...

I take the back of her seat and slide the chair back so she can maneuver into it easier.

"Oh, you don't need to do that, Your Highness." She says quickly.

"Oh, but I do." I give her a mischievous grin. "You are, after all, in a ball gown. I've seen the difficulty of movement that women have faced in such a dress."

A light blush dusts her cheeks as she walks around the chair. She takes a seat as I push the chair closer to the table.

"Thank you, Your Majesty." She smiles at me.

"You're very welcome, my dear." I walk back around to my spot at the table and take my seat.

"It's good to see you healthy, little one." Maya smiles.

... I forgot that everyone is here...

"Yes, it's good to see you in good health." Louis agrees with Maya. "Glad to see more colour in your face."

"Thank you." Y/N rubs the back of her neck. "Honestly, I'm pretty sure that the colour in my face is mostly makeup." She laughs.

"Well, I suppose that we can eat now that everyone is here." I smile and clap my hands.

A few Boos float in, carrying trays with food. They set the food on the table and each moves to the side of Boocifer, Y/N, and myself. The Boo placed a plate of food in front of each of us and opened the lid, revealing our food.

"Before, we get started, Y/N?" Boocifer turns towards her as she looks up. "Where is Snare? I can't imagine that he would leave your side even if you are in the best of health."

"You would be correct." She answers. "Snare is actually holding up my hair." She raises her hand up to her head and a small vine pokes our and wraps around her finger. "He likes it up there and I've gotten used to it." She shrugs.

I barely pay attention to my food as I pick up my silverware, captivated. "Now, Ms. L/N, please start from the beginning."

She takes a deep breath and a sip of water before starting. "To start off with, Elemiras has slowly been manipulated into following a dictatorship. The family that's been in control, since the end of the war 100 yeas ago, calls themselves 'monarchs'."

"So?" Henry interrupts. "They call themselves Kings and Queens, I see no harm in it."

Without missing a beat, Y/N turns to Henry. "Do you see harm in a self proclaimed 'king' brutally killing his subjects for simply saying 'no' instead of 'yes'? Or for that 'king' to to control his people using military forces? Or for that 'king' to change our history books so that we barely even know our own history, culture, and incantations?" Throughout all of this, Y/N keeps her voice low and calm. Wrath is prominently displayed all over her face.

Everyone is quite. We're are all shocked that the helpless young lady from a few hours ago has completely disappeared. She has a strong sense of authority, as if she has faced a judgmental councilman before.

"Daniel and his family have done nothing but harm Elemiras since they first came into power." Y/N continues. "All so they can keep us under control. They treat us like sh- ah, garbage. The rich are hardly taxed while those who need money are stolen from. Quite a few people are starving and on the streets. They also have us in tight sort of provinces."

"Could you please define 'tight provinces'? Back in Canada, we had provinces and provinces aren't tight per say." Louis asks.

"We can't leave our provinces." She simply states. "We are separated into bending groups and can only learn that provinces bending. I lived in the Plandbender's Province. There are five in total; The Earthbenders, Firebenders, Waterbenders, Airbenders, and Plantbenders."

"While we are on the subject," Henry speaks up, yet again. "I am curious on what has changed within the capitol since the last time I've been there."

"Larsen City? I can't say I know what it was like in the sixteenth century but I can tell you one thing might not have changed. They call the jail a dungeon." She rolls her eyes.

Larsen City? Last I heard, it was called Elementum.

"Larsen City?" Maya has a clear look of disgust plastered across her face. "That sounds like a name that a two year old came up with."

"I wouldn't be surprised if it was." Y/N shakes her head as she takes a bite of her food. "The Larsens have been ruling Elemiras since the war 100 years ago. I think it's safe to say who came up with that name." She pauses. "I do wish that I knew what the previous name was, anything is better than that."

"Elementum." Henry and I say at the same time.

"Of course it's the Latin word for Element." Y/N laughs. She looks towards Louis and her smile falls a little. "Mr. Riel? You seem perplexed, is everything alright?"

"Hm? Oh, yes. I just have one question for you, Ms. L/N. Boocifer told us how you were able to bend multiple elements during your escape. If you couldn't leave your designated province, how did you learn how to use those elements in combat?"

"Well, I have two reasons." She scratches the back of her neck. "Before I go one, I must say I did miss speak earlier. Only Plant Masters could enter and leave different provinces so we could grow certain plants in the environments that they needed. I was able to watch benders and try to mimic them when I got my own time.

The second reason is that I have quite a few friends in said provinces that aren't too happy about our country's dictatorship either, so we all taught each other to the best of our ability. It was mainly me running around and learning then teaching to those who wanted to learn." She finishes. 

Is that why she got the lashings? From getting caught teaching what they should already know? I ponder, but I ask a different question all together. "What do you know of the missing Boos around the border of Elemiras?"

"Missing Boos..?" Boocifer questions. "What on Earth did I miss?"

"...twenty-five Boos have gone missing since you and Boodini left..." Maya says slowly. "All of them were last seen around Elemiras' borders."

Boocifer looks dejected as Y/N appears to be lost in thought. "How did we miss, that many other Boos..?" Boocifer looks to Y/N.

"There's a possibility that I over looked some of the cells but," Y/N pales. "Do you remember what Daniel said to that one Doctor before I came into your cell?"

"Barely... But I'm not sure if I want you to remind me..."

"Just tell us!" Henry's impatience is evident.

"Please tell us, little one. It might help." Maya calmly asks.

"I think it will... and it won't..." It appears as if a light bulb went off in her head, and not a good one. "I could barely hear it through the door but, from what I did hear," She takes a breath. "the Larsens are using Boos to power our cities." Y/N looks up, sorrow in her eyes. "It's the only thing that makes sense. Based on what I heard and saw, Boocifer and Boodini were both used to power my province." Her sorrow quickly changes to wrath, along with my own.

"This is outrageous!" I hiss. "Y/N, what exactly did you hear?"

"I wish I heard more... but most of the conversation was behind the door." She brings her hand up to her chin. "All I remember hearing was 'great power source', 'get more soon', and 'fade away'."

"Is that all?" I ask.

"No, I heard a little more once the door opened." She chuckles a little. "Daniel asked the doctor if His Majesty was suspicious of them." She gestures to me. "The doctor told him no and they left."

"I told you that we need to go to war with Elemiras, Sire!" Henry yells.

"Quite the delayed reaction, Henry." Y/N turns to Henry, unimpressed. "Besides, it's only the Larsens and the doctor who know where Elemiras' power really comes from."

"And how would you know that?" Henry bellows.

"Hm, I don't know, maybe I know because I lived there? I paid taxes, I did research on where my taxes were going. Every. Single. Year. So did those friends of mine that I mentioned earlier, and we told each other what we found. All we found was solar power and wind power from the Airbenders." Y/N isn't impressed with Henry, and frankly, neither am I. 

"We are not going to war, Henry." I end that discussion. "When Adam returns from Elemiras, we will discuss about this more. He knows more about Elementals more than any of us, he can help us with this situation." I turn to Y/N. "Is there anything else that we should know about Elemiras?"

"There are there robotic guards, they're called Robotic Police Units of RPUs for short." She answers. "I have no idea how much Boos or Spirits can do against them. Other than that, that's about everything." She shrugs.

"I don't think that's everything." Henry pipes up.

Not again... I shake my head. "Henry, enough."

"No, Your Majesty. We can't trust her, the reasons for her lashings are still unknown to us." Henry really won't drop that subject. I shake my head, disappointed.

"Is that what this is about?" Y/N asks.

"Ms. L/N, you do NOT need to answer his question." Louis assures her.

"I'm sure you all are curious and I think I'm finally able to share now." Y/N is holding her head up high.

She almost looks like a Queen, she's jest missing the crown.

Y/N take a breath. "I was lashed under the account of treason. The Larsens told everyone that I tried to over throw them to take the throne for myself. But," She holds up a finger. "those charges are false. The real reason that I was lashed was because I refused to marry Henry Larsen."

"...I beg your pardon?" I'm perplexed. She was lashed for refusing a marriage proposal?

"I refused to marry the self proclaimed prince of Elemiras. They lashed me as a warning and a way to sway me. It didn't work, of course. But," Her face falls. "after I refused a second time, Daniel declared that I would be beheaded the next day... today actually." She forces a laugh and smile. "Weird how I was supposed to be executed today but I was saved instead."

One of Snares vines slithers down to her hand and grips it. Boocifer gets up and floats up to Y/N. "Are you alright?" Boocifer asks.

"Better than I have ben for a while, that's for sure." She smiles, a genuine smile.

I'd say that should be enough for today, everyone is tired and it's been a long few days.

"Well," I stand. "seeing as the food has been eaten and that these past few days have been exhausting, I'd say we're finished here." I look directly to Y/N. "You may stay here as long as you like. If you need anything, just ask anyone of the Six Queens that assisted you earlier."

"Or myself." Boocifer offers.

"Or Boocifer, of course." I agree. By this time, everyone is out of their seats. "I am still missing quite a bit of my strength, so if you will excuse me, I will be off to bed." I turn to the doors and walk by Y/N as she bows. I resist the urge to reach out to her, to tell her that she doesn't need to do that. "Good night, everyone."


	17. Y/N

I open the door to my room, sighing a goodnight to Boocifer. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Goodnight, Y/N." He waves back, a smile on his face.

I close the door and sigh. Well that was an eventful day... Now that I have enough blood in my body, I can see the room a bit clearly now. I now know that I am on the second floor with a garden view balcony. The windows are floor to ceiling, making the room feel larger. There is a large walk in closet filled with gorgeous dresses and some pants and shirts. There is a small vanity close to the closet and right next to a changing screen. There does seem to be something different in this room. I look towards the four poster bed and I finally see it.

The colour scheme is different. Everything is my favorite colour. Granted they're all different shades but, the purples that were here earlier are gone.

I walk up to the four poster bed and feel the satin curtain things. "I could have sworn that everything was different..."

"You'd be right." I jump and turn around, facing the source of the French voice. Standing in front of me is Anne and Kate. "The room changes to the colour that you prefer. It's a strange kind of magic but it is nice when we have guests."

"Yeah, it's really cool. And it just gives me a better sense of home while I stay." I smile to myself. "So, um, what are you two doing here. Do you need something?"

"More like you need some help." Kate giggles. "We're here to help you get out of the dress."

"Oh! Thank you so much, that's very kind of you two." I smile brightly.

"Not a problem." Anne says leading me over to the changing screen and vanity. "We'll get you all nice and ready for a good night's sleep."

As Anne sits me down in front of the vanity, Kate flies into the closet and brings out a different night gown I wore earlier. "The one that you had on earlier still has some blood stains so, luckily, we have a few extra." She flies over to me to help Anne with my hair and makeup.

On the vanity, there is a hair brush, some hair pins, a small bowl of water, and some towels. Anne dips one of the towels into the water and brings it to my face, wiping away my makeup. Snare crawls away from my hair and down my arm, letting my hair fall into my face. Kate picks up the brush and starts taking the bobby pins from my hair and brushing it.

"So, Y/N?" Anne starts.

"Yes?" 

"I was wondering if you have any family and if you miss them or not."

"Well, I have my younger sister Rowan and my Nana, Iris." I answer. "And Yeah, I miss them. The last time I saw them was around a week ago."

"A week?" Kate stares.

"Yeah, that's how long I was locked up for." 

"Oh, that makes sense." Anne sighs. "That's still unfortunate, you and your family shouldn't be forcefully separated for that long..." She trails off.

"What's your family like?" Kate asks.

"Well, Rowan is pretty energetic and hard working. If you need something done, she'll jump at it and finish the job within a day. She's also really annoying and nosy when she wants to be. I will admit, there were a few time that I wanted to punt her into the sunbut we're siblings, we both have those thoughts." I laugh. "But when all is said and done, Rowan and I love and protect each other from whatever we can."

"Your sister sounds like my kind of lady." Anne laughs. Kate has me stand up and go behind the changing screen.

"What about your parents?"

"Well, I actually don't really know my parents. My Nana raised Rowan and I."

"What happened to your parents? Are they dead?" Anne asks, concerned.

"No, at least, I don't think so..." I sigh as Kate takes the top layer of the dress off. "Rowan and I were separated from our parents at a young age because we bent plants instead of fire." Kate moves the top layer of the skirt away and Anne gets started on my corset. "We were lucky that our Nana was a Plantbender so we were able to stay with her. She taught me almost everything I knew."

"I'm just confused as to how you don't even know that your parents are alive." Kate walks back to the screen and lifts my skirt. "I should get you out of those shoes now."

I lift my feet out of those torture devices known as heals and step behind them. "Well, we didn't have any contact with any benders that weren't Plantbenders. No one did. So Rowan, Nana, and I didn't really know their situation." I feel the corset loosen and breath a sigh of relief. "How did you two live in these things?"

"You get used to them." Anne shrugs. She and Kate have me do a little shimmy to get out of the dress. "Especially if you've been wearing them since you were eleven."

Comfortable silence overcame us as we continue to get myself out of the dress. They unbutton the back of the skirt. Anne had me lift my arms above my head and Kate starts to grab the bottom of the skirt. Anne grabs her half of the bottom of the skirt and they lift it over my head. I cover my chest with my hands while they move the skirt.

"I'm wondering why I didn't just step over the skirt... wouldn't that have been easier?"

"We mainly don't want the skirt to get dirty. It's easier to clean and store this way." Kate answers with a smile.

"Oh, alright."

"Hey, Y/N?" Anne turns to me while Kate goes to put the skirt with the top layer on the bed.

"What's up?" I smile, moving to the night dress draped over the side of the changing screen.

"Well, I've never seen a Bender, well, bend before... could you show us?"

"Sure! Um..." I look around the room. I can't Firebend or they'll disappear... I don't see any Earth, I can barely Airbend so that's out... They've seen Snare grow and shrink on his own... I turn to the water bowl on the vanity and smile. Throwing the night gown over my head, I take my stance.

Okay, remember, push and pull. I breath and move my hands in a sort of flowing motion. The water moves up from the bowl and into the air. I move the water around the room, being sure that none of it falls to the floor.

Anne and Kate are mesmerized. They have the biggest smiles on their faces. 

"Wow! And Everyone in your country can do that?" Kate asks, stars in her eyes. 

"We are capable, yes." I say. I manipulate the water to move around both of them. The water circles Kate and Anne, sparkling in the candle light. "But only the Waterbenders are technically allowed to bend water. I did this illegally back home."

"Illegally?" Anne looks at me, trying fake a surprised look.

"Anne, I know you were listening in on the conversation in the diner room." I smile, moving the water back to the bowl. "Please, drop the act."

"How did you know?" Now Anne is surprised.

"No offence and all but you're not the most convincing actress." I step away from the changing screen. "That and I've gotten pretty good at reading people." I wink.

"...Do you mind if we tell the others?" Kate asks after some hesitance. "I think we'd all prefer if no one has to repeat themselves."

"Sure, tell them everything that I said." I respond. "Just get the other's permission too, please."

"Sure thing!" Anne jumps excitedly. "Oh, you still haven't told us about your Nana."

"Well, my Nana is one of the kindest people I know. She always taught Rowan and I to be selfless but she also showed us that we need to take care of ourselves too." I smile. "Nana is also a well known musician, sort of. She plays the piano and organ for anyone who asks, quite a few churches wanted her to play for them here and there and almost every other weekend she was booked in for weddings." I laugh. "She even taught Rowan and I piano. But, I'm not as good as Rowan, she has a talent. Nana is definitely a stickler for rules, as long as they're fair that is. I think she purposefully had us play in the basement so one of us would find that book. One time, Rowan and I were sent to the office for starting a fight in the hallway of our high school because some boys were harassing us and even touched us. Nana tore into the principle and the boy's parents when she was told what happened." I laugh at the memory.

"Y/N? Do you have anything to say for yourself?" The principal looks me up and down.

"I'm just sorry that I didn't hit him harder." I sneer.

"Y/N..." Rowan sighs, giggling a little. "But, I do wish that I could have broken someone's nose."

Rowan and I laugh as the principal and the parents glare at us. I look to Jake, the dumbass who decided to get his little gang of horse shits to touch us, with a mocking smirk.

"It's your own fault!" The mom screams at us. "If you two... Hussies weren't wearing something so revealing then this wouldn't have happened."

"It's thirty degrees outside!" Rowan yells. "We are wearing tank tops and basket ball shorts!"

"What the ever flying fuck do you want us to do? Suffer through History thinking 'I'm so fucking sweaty' or actually learning?" I add.

"The Lord would never approve of this." The dad sneers. 

"If anything, your son and his friends should have their hands cut off." Nana steps in after minutes of silence.

"Excuse me?!" The mom shrieks. 

"You heard me." 

"That is unacceptable! You, ma'am, need Jesus!" The dad yells.

"Mathew 5:30." Nana says. "For touching someone inappropriately, Jesus says to cut your own hands off." She smirks, just getting started.

"Could I go get some popcorn for what's about to happen?" I ask no one in particular.

"Define 'tore into them'." Kate raises an eyebrow.

"Oh, she just called them out on their Bullshit using the very book that they worship." I shrug.

"Hey, um, how old is your sister?" Anne asks quickly.

"She's twenty-three. And before you ask, I am twenty-six." I state.

"Have you seen Rowan bend other elements?" Kate puts the dress on a clothing hanger and takes it to the closet.

"Yes, and oh you should have seen it!" I laugh. "The first time Rowan bent other elements was when she wasn't trying! She saw me bend earth and fire so she kept trying herself. One day, Rowan and I were helping Nana make supper and Rowan got so frustrated over something and she threw her hands in the air." I walk towards the window and spin around. "SPLASH! The water that was in the sink went everywhere! We all got wet and we couldn't stop laughing."

"That sounds hilarious!" Anne giggles.

"Do different elements come easier to different Elementals?" Kate asks.

"I found it so much easier to bend plants than anything else." I put my hand on my cheek. "From easiest to hardest element for me to bend has to be... Plants, Earth, Fire, Water, and Air. Rowan's is almost the opposite, Plants are kind of in the middle of her range."

"So... Air is the easiest element for her?"

"Exactly, Earth is the hardest element for her to bend." I smile and turn to the doors of the balcony.

"Well then, you look like you're ready for bed."" Kate moves over to me. "Before we go, is there anything else you need us to take care of?"

"No, you've both been amazing. Thank you so much for helping me out." I smile to Kate and Anne.

"Alright, just so you know," Anne pipes up. "One or two of us Queens will come up to wake you tomorrow at around seven. Is that alright?"

"Sounds like a plan. But, why seven?" 

"Well," Kate has a mischievous smile on her face. "we were talking and thought 'it's going to be a while till Y/N leaves so why not teach her how to be a Queen?'"

"Sorry, what?"

"We're going to give you Queening lessons!" Anne shouts excitedly. "That is, until you're ready to leave."

"I have no idea when I'll be leaving. I need to speak with King Adam before I go, that's for sure."

"Well, that is undeterminable. Prefect for us!" Kate smiles as she and Anne make their way to the door. "Well, we'll be off. Goodnight!"

"Goodnight." I wave.

The room is left in peaceful silence as Snare makes his way over to me. I look back to the door to the balcony. Snare crawls up my leg and moves to my arm.

"What do you think, buddy?" I turn to him as he curls up on my shoulder. "Should we check out the view of the garden?" Snare nods one of his little vines.

I take a deep breath and walk to the door. I grasp the golden handles and slowly swing open the French doors. The balcony is very simple, polished stone with an oak table and matching chair for reading. Overall, simple.

"I wonder if the King will let me grow some ivy up the little pillars and onto the stone railing." I whisper to no one in particular.

"I'm sure if you ask the King will happily oblige." A voice pops out of no where.

I jump and turn to the source and see the King. He is leaning over the railing of the balcony perpendicular to mine. He is no longer in his suit and his crown is missing from his head. He was, however, in silk pajamas and slippers. His entire attire is a pale blue.

"Your Majesty! So sorry, I didn't notice you." I turn my head away in embarrassment. 

I can hear him chuckle, similar to his low melodic laugh, the sound of it is addicting. "You don't need to apologize for anything, my dear. I should be the one apologizing to you."

I turn towards King Boo. He has a gentle smile gracing his face and there is a soft twinkle in his magenta eyes, it looks like a twinkle of amusement. 

When the King notices that I'm not going to say anything more he turns to the garden. "I take it that you're out here to look at the garden?"

"Yes, when I was bedridden I wasn't able to see it but now I have the chance." I move closer to the railing. "I remember when Snare and I were coming up the path, there was a nice little garden at the front."

"Yes, quite a few of my subjects love to garden, myself included. It tends to relax one's brain and body."

"I couldn't agree more. Gardening always helped when I needed an escape." I sigh. I look over the railing and onto the garden, saddened by the sight before me. All the grass is dying, if you could even call it grass. There are so many patches of dirt that you can barely tell there is even any grass. The only plants are large weeds littering every corner of the garden and some of the stone around the planters is chipped or entirely missing. The fountain at least has some clean blue water in it but the statues are covered in bird poop and cracks. Finally, there is one statue that stands out more than the rest. It's definitely new and absolutely does not belong there. It's a large stone statue of the Professor that I met yesterday. Or was it two days ago? Either way, the statue has a large red and yellow propeller over top of it that's attached to the stone back pack on the Professor's back.

"Unfortunately, we haven't been welcome to this mansion in quite a while." the King sighs. "Two years ago, Professor Elvin Gadd moved his paranormal research project to Evershade Valley. He wants to study ghosts and Spirits, so what better way than Evershade Valley?"

"But why did he put that God awful statue of himself in the garden? The colour schemes of that doesn't, and will never, match with anything around this mansion." I gawk. "And why couldn't he have used the time he was making that statue to maintain the garden?" I shake my head.

The King's laughter fills the air and Snare contracts on my shoulder, also laughing. "My dear, you are the first person, living or not, that I have ever met who loathes that statue more than me!" His laughter dies down and he moves closer to my balcony. "Would you like to help my Boos and myself fix it? Of course, this isn't the only garden that needs fixing but we could start with this one. Depending how long your stay will be, of course."

My eyes light up. "I would love to, Your Majesty! I already have a few ideas as to what we can put in it that will flourish beautifully in the moon light."

"That sounds wonderful, my dear." the King smiles. "Might I ask what your ideas might be? What would you put in this garden?"

"I definitely want to put plants in that look best at night... so definitely some Queen of the Night, Evening Primrose, Datura, and some Red Flare Water Lilies for some colour."

"And ivy growing up the pillars of the balconies and patio?" The King smirks, raising an eyebrow.

I rub the back of my neck, embarrassed. "Wait, both? You're alright with that?" I turn to himand tilt my head.

I'm close enough for the King to bring his hand up to my cheek and hold my face. "I think that this mansion needs more colour and life to it." We both chuckle at his joke. "You and you're ideas are gladly welcome." He strokes my cheek with his thumb.


	18. King Boo

I wake up to knocking at my door.

"Your Majesty? I have some breakfast here for you." It's Jane.

"Yes, please come in." I sit up and yawn.

"Good morning, Your Majesty!" Jane seems even more cheerful than usual. "Today we have the usual: buttered toast, bacon, two over easy eggs, and some coffee." She smiles, putting the plate and cup down on the bedside table. "I also noticed these letters left on your desk from two days ago..."

"I completely forgot about those." I groan to myself. I really need to burn those before I get second thoughts.

"Sire, I couldn't help but recognize the handwriting... Are these letters from Luciel?" She holds up the stack of letters now tied up with red string.

"Unfortunately, they are." I sigh. "The one that was opened was the first one that was sent. She has the gall to ask for forgiveness for what she has done and wishes for us to become a couple again." I say with a hint of disgust.

"Incredible... the nerve of that woman" Jane shakes her head.

"You can go ahead and do what you want with those letters. I don't want to see them at all."

"Alright, Sire. I think I have a few ideas. Will that be all?"

"No, actually." I smile. "You see, Y/N and I ran into each other last night and started talking."

"About what, Sire?"

"About that poor garden outside our balconies. Y/N has a few ideas to fix it and I was thinking that we can get started on it today, after my duties are fulfilled of course." I stand and walk to the small desk next to my closet, picking up the list of night flowers that Y/N mentioned last night. "Would you please get someone to get seeds for these flowers from the Haunted Towers?"

"I'd be happy to, Your Majesty." Jane takes the list from me. "I'll get right on it. Will that be all?"

"Yes. Thank you very much, Jane." I pick up the toast.

"Have a good morning, Your Majesty." Jane bows and walks out the door, closing it on her way out.

I take a bite of my toast, still trying to wake up, and I look towards my desk. The types of flowers wasn't the only thing I wrote down last night. I pick up the little paragraph that I wrote and read it over. I am almost shocked with what I read, and wrote for that matter. On the page is a detailed description of Y/N's face. Everything from her hair down to her neck. All of her beauty marks and dimples, the little scar on her cheek, what colour her iris' are, and how soft her skin is to the touch.

"What am I doing..?" I whisper to myself. I can't seem to get this woman off my mind. "Think, Boo, Think. Why are you thinking about her so much?"

She is naturally kind, despite her fear of Boocifer and Boodini she rushed to help them. Her injuries didn't stop her either, so she is very persistent and a little stubborn. She isn't afraid to stand up for herself. And she is absolutely radiant. I slap my hand to my face, feeling my cheeks flare up. "No, no, no. Stop it!"

I shake my head as I take the book that I was reading earlier and beckon the plate of food and coffee to me. I sit down at my desk, sipping the coffee. Jane, you sly dog. You put Deadly Night Shade in this too. I smile. I turn to the page holding my book mark and start reading, while eating my breakfast.

It must have been around half an hour when I look to the clock. 7:30. I'd say that's enough leisure time for now. I stand up and look down at my empty plate and cup, placing the bookmark in it's new place. I turn towards my closet and beckon a clean suit to me. Closing the curtain, I start to take off my shirt. I quickly change into my new suit and just as I finish, there is another knock at the door.

"One moment, please." I shout, changing my pants quickly. "Alright, come on in."

The door swings open and in flies a blur of pink. The pink thing hits me square in the chest and wraps arms around me.

Great, why now of all times?

"Darling!" Luciel squeals into my chest. "I've missed you so much! I hope you got my letters."

"Luciel, would you kindly let go of me?" I force a smile and grab her arms. Before she can respond and carefully pry them off me. "Yes, I did get your letters, but frankly, I don't reciprocate those feelings."

"Oh, come on, baby! There wasn't anything going on. We were both just at the wrong place at the wrong time." She tries to convince me.

"I highly doubt that." I say, moving towards my bed and grabbing my vest from the air.

"Why? Is it because of those Spirits wives of Henry? Or Boocifer? I told you, darling, they're only close to you so they can run the kingdom through you." She grabs my arm and 'consoles' me. "They know that I won't stand for it. They are trying to keep you away from me."

I laugh as I tare my arm away from her. "My, my, Luciel. You've lost your edge. I take my cravat and jewel from midair and start to tie it around my neck. "Really? That's exactly what they're doing! Keeping you away from me like I asked them to."

"What?" The shock on her face is endearing.

"I want you to stay far away from me. If I have you around, I won't be able to run my kingdom properly and that will harm my subjects." I sand up straight as I aggressively pin the jewel to my cravat.

"How would me being by your side like a loving wife be harmful?" She starts to cry. I can easily see pass this facade. She has a nasty talent for crying on the spot.

"You were the one who originally manipulated me into joining King Koopa, into damaging my kingdom's relationship with the Mushroom Kingdom." I list off. "Besides, having you next to me when I don't want you to be will just be a constant distraction. You are also the one who advised me to try and take over the living." I smile aggressively. "Stop the crocodile tears, they won't do you and good."

Her eyes dry up and she looks at me with a scowl. "I'm just trying to do what is best for the kingdom."

"Nothing you have done ever helped the kingdom, if anything, you are the reason everything is so horrible right now." I say camly, wrath seething from my voice.

"So, you replace me with a human?!" She yells at me, the false sweetness is completely gone. "I know about that human staying in the room next to you. What are you trying to do? Trap her into a relationship with you?" She laughs. "If you think that for one second that someone loves you for more than your title, you're full of shit." She hisses.

I try to keep my composure as to not give her the satisfaction of a reaction. "That isn't what is going on here. Y/N saved Boocifer and I am repaying her by giving her a place to stay until it's safe for her to go home." My wrath is only growing. "Now, would you kindly remove yourself from my sight before one of us does something we'll regret." My voice is hushed at the last part.

Luciel stares me straight in my eyes, trying to tell if I'm bluffing. She then turns around and stalks out of the room. Before closing the door, Luciel turns back to me. "Mark my words, Your Majesty," she spits. "This isn't the last time you hear from me." She promises. And like that, she's gone and the door is closed.

I sigh and put on my suit jacket and my crown as I look towards the paper describing Y/N's features. I walk over to my desk and pick up the paper.

"If you think for one second that someone loves you for more than your title, you're full of shit." Luciel's ring in my ears. I take one of the candelabras and touch the fire to the paper, watching it burn. The burning paper floats in the air as it slowly turns to ash.

I swallow the lump in my throat and turn to the door. I walk over and hope that Luciel is nowhere near my door. As I open the door, someone jumps out of the way, a small shriek escapes their lips.

"Terribly sorry, my dear! I didn't see you there." I apologize to Y/N profusely.

All I can hear is laughter from the other side of the door. "Sire, if you could see through doors, I would find that very concerning. It was an accident, no need to apologize." I close the door and see Y/N laughing and waving it off.

"That doesn't mean that I am not sorry. I should have been paying attention when the door opened, instead I walked right in front of you." I sigh.

"Again, Sire. There is no need for an apology." Her laughter has subsided to giggling. I can't help but smile at the sight. She looks quite, dare I say it, cute.

"Very well, you've convinced me." I laugh. "I'll stop apologizing. And might I say, my dear, you look absolutely exquisite." I smile looking at her attire. Y/N is dressed in a simple knee length dress with a sweet heart neck line. It has a strap that appears to tie behind her neck. The dress is the same colour as her eyes with a few specks of green and gold. She's wearing matching black shoes.

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Y/N bows, a smile clear on her face. "I'm sorry to impose but I was wondering if you know were Jane is?"

"Yes, I sent her on a small errand for the garden work later today." I reply. "May I ask why?"

"Well, Jane said she would lead me to the parlor." She scratches the back of her neck.

"I can easily accompany you there myself. That is," I move my arm out towards hers. "If you would be so kind as to let me."

Y/N hesitates. Then, she smiles and gladly takes my arm. "That would be absolutely wonderful, Your Majesty." She beams.

We start to walk down the hall in comfortable silence, but I do have a question on my mind. "Y/N, why are you going to the parlor?" I ask, breaking the silence.

"Well, last night, before our talk, Anne and Kate were helping me out of the dress I was wearing to diner and told me that they wanted to do something with me."

"And that would be..?"

She giggles a little bit. "The want to teach me how to act like a Queen." I almost stop dead in my tracks. Luciel's words echo through my head once again.

"And do you know why they're teaching you."

"I'm not entirely sure, I think that Anne said something along the lines of how bored she is." She scratches her chin. "She and Kate said that they'll continue to teach me until it's time for me to go, but I'm not too sure if I want to learn how to 'be a Queen'. I just, don't think I'm cut out for that kind of thing..." I relax as she says this. Y/N seems to notice but says nothing.

"Any idea on what the curriculum will consist of?" I tease.

"Not a clue. Because of this, I am both curious and apprehensive at the same time." She confesses.

"I can assure you that you have nothing to worry about." I say as we go down the staircase and to the first floor. "I am wondering how you are fairing since your recovery and change in surroundings."

"I have to say I'm doing much better than I have in a long time." She smiles up at me. "But I hope the previous King of Elemiras will come back soon..." She trails off.

"Adam? The reason being?"

"I can only survive on moonlight for so long. I can't stay in Evershade Valley forever. I also need to talk to Adam about the whereabouts of his heir. They might be able to help our current situation." She takes a breath. "I do wish that I could stay here longer, but I need to help my people."

"Just know that you will always be welcome here if you ever want to visit." We stop in front of the parlor door.

"Thank you very much for helping me get here, Your Majesty." She bows to me.

"It isn't a problem at all, my dear." I grasp the door knob and open the door for her. "I have to say, your company is rather enjoyable. Now, I will send someone to come collect you for when we will be fixing that garden."

"That sounds wonderful." She steps into the parlor, still smiling to me. "I look forward to it. Have a good day, Your Majesty." She does one final bow.

"And to you as well, my dear." I close the door a little slower than needed, wishing that Luciel's words weren't true.


	19. Y/N

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry for how long this chapter is! I just couldn't stop writing when I was on a roll... I hope you've enjoyed the story thus far!

After King Boo closes the door, the five Queens in the room rush over to me. All of them start talking at once.

"What were you doing with the King?"

"Where is Jane?"

"How did you two run into each other?"

"Was that a spark I saw?"

"What are you wearing?"

My head is spinning from all the questions. I try to answer them one by one. "The King said he would help me find my way to the parlor. I have no idea were Jane is. The King almost ran into me when I was trying to find my way here. I have no ides what your talking about with a 'spark'. And what do you mean 'what am I wearing'?" I take a breath.

"I mean," Katherine speaks up. "Why is your dress above your knees?"

I start to laugh. "This is much more comfortable than a ball gown thank you, and much easier to move in." 

"Well you shouldn't expose yourself like that!" Katherine is mortified. "Showing ankle was scandalous in my day, but this?"

I erupt into fits of laughter. "Times change, Katherine. I have seen much worse in my highschool than this." I say after my laughter dies down. "If I had some leggings, then I would have worn them. Trust me."

"That still doesn't excuse ankles and knees!" Katherine seems panicked. "And the King saw you like this!"

Kathy floats over to Katherine and puts a hand on her shoulder. "It's fine, besides, Jane would have approved it." Kathy turns to me. "Which brings me to my next question... do you know what happened to Jane?"

"Sort of," I cross my arms over my chest. "The King explained that he sent her on a errand involving plant seeds."

"Why would he send her to do that?" Anna ponders.

"I think I have a good idea." I sratch the back of my neck, slightly embarrassed. "Last night, after Kate and Anne left the room, I went out onto the balcony and the King was out on his balcony as well." I feel Snare contract on my should, laughing at the interaction. "We started talking and got on the topic of the garden. His Majesty asked about suggestions for the garden and I gave him them. He then told me that he wants to work on the garden with me the next day."

"So, like a date?" Anne hints.

"No. No. No. We're just fixing the garden." I flush red. "Besides, the King said that there would be other Boos who like to garden themselves there too."

"Alright, I'm stopping this before we start even later." Katherine jumps in between Anne and I.

I sigh a breath of relief. Why am I so flustered? I question myself.

"Alright," Kate claps her hands together. "Let's start with something simple." She grabs a book from an end table and places it on my head. "First lesson: Grace."

The next two hours go off in a blur. All I can remember is the gramophone playing a haunting melody and more and more books being stacked on my head as I walk around the room. The Queens even had me dance a small walts. We finally stop when my stomach starts to growl.

"I'm so sorry, I haven't eaten yet..." I say embarrassed. At this point I have about ten books on my head, so in reality, I'm only sorry that my neck has to endure this weight.

"It's alright, Kind." Anna slowly takes each book off my head and hands them to the other Queens. "Now is a good time to stop anyway."

Suddenly, the door bursts open revealing the missing Jane. She's flushed and panting, somehow..? Jane has a stack of letters tied together with a red string in one hand and a tray of food in the other. "So sorry I'm late, I had to finish this errand on my own."

I rush over to Jane and take the tray of food from her hands. "Here, Jane. I'll take that and you can relax." I smile to her. "Jane, you overwork yourself so much. Please try to take time and relax."

"Well, I do have something to get a good laugh from." Jane gives us a mischievous smirk as she holds up the stack of letters. "His Majesty gave me these to do whatever I want with them."

"What are they?" I ask, eyeing the letters curiously.

"First," Jane uses her free hand to guide me to a chair and sits me down. "You need to eat." She smiles.

I laugh and take a bite of the food. "This is delicious!" I exclaim after swallowing.

"Glad you think so." Jane turns to the other Queens. "Now, time for some tea, my Queens."

"Perfect." Anne laugh. "Who were those from."

"Luciel." All of the Queens look to Jane, shock and awe is written on all of their faces.

"Hold on!" Anna steps in. "Luciel?!" Jane just nods, enjoying every minute of the interaction.

"She was actually here this morning, in the King's room." Jane informs the Queens while I silently eat breakfast. I feel my heart sink.

Wait, what is this. I'm smarter than this. I think to myself, panicked.

"No!" Anne screams.

"They weren't together... were they?" Kathy slowly asks Jane.

"They weren't." Jane assures them. "I heard the King yelling at her to get out after he politely told her to leave multiple times."

"That daft woman!" Katherine yells.

"I'm sorry, but could someone please explain who Luciel is?" I speak up.

The Queens turn to me a little startled, as if they forgot that I was there. I giggle a little bit at their reactions.

"So sorry, kind!" Anna jumps. "We got so caught up in this news that we forgot you were here." She slightly blushes at that remark. I simply shrug as she goes on. "Luciel is the King's ex. At one point in time, we all thought that they were going to get married."

"What happened? Why are all of you making me think she is the crazy ex in sitcoms?" I question.

"Well, you can thank Anne for that." Kate points to Anne. "She caught Luciel with another Spirit in the library."

"All in a day's work." Anne boasts.

Anna shakes her head and continues were Kate left off. "Turns out Luciel was having multiple affairs with different Spirits. She would bring them all to the mansion and hide them when ever the King finished his duties early."

"That's horrible!" I bring my hand up to my mouth. Snare wiggles in distain in his little spot at the base of my scull.

"When the King found out, he. Was. Furious." Anne emphasized the last little bit. "He stormed to the room Luciel and he latest catch was and he gave them an earful."

"He ended things with Luciel then and there." Kathy has her arms crossed over her chest. "After that, His Majesty stayed in his room. He ordered everything that he needed from his office be moved to his room so he could still do his work. He only ever let Jane and Boocifer into the room." She trails off.

"That's so unfortunate." I sigh. "I'm glad that His Majesty isn't hurting as much. I don't think anyone can get over that kind of betrayal."

After a moment of silence, Jane lifts the letters again. "Anyway, I was thinking that we could read these and burn them right after."

"We don't have anything to get a fire started." Anna sighs.

I stand up and move to the fireplace at the far end of the room. Kneeling down, I put my hand over the log already in the fireplace. I make a fist and pull my hand back. Taking a deep breath, I strike at the air around the log and flames burst from my fist. They easily catch onto the log, creating a roaring fire. I smile, stand up, and brush the old ash from around the fireplace off my skirt. I look up to see the Queens dumfounded.

"What?" I shrug. "I just got a fire going so we can burn those." I point to the letters in Jane's hand. 

"Well you didn't need to show off." Anne laughs.

Everyone joins in and we each grab a stack of letters and open them. After reading and gossiping about the contents of each letter, one by one they all went into the fire. It was pretty peaceful, well, as peaceful as it can be with Anne and Katherine around each other. Just as the the final letter lights up, we hear a knock at the door.

"Who is it?" Katherine calls out.

"It's Boocifer. May I please come in?"

"Of course you can." Jane shouts back.

Boocifer comes strolling in the room, a small smirk on his face. "Hello, Ladies. How are you all this morning?"

"We're doing very well, thank you." I smile. "How about yourself? I have to say, your little smirk is concerning me."

"Well, I am doing perfect." His smirk grows as he looks at me. I don't like the look he is giving me. 

"As nice as that sounds," I raise an eyebrow. "I have to say, your sadistic smile is starting to throw me off."

"Well, someone seems to have received the King's favor." Boocifer eyes me. "Might I ask what you two talked about last night?"

"Wow. You make it sound like I'm a prude." I laugh nervously. "We only talked about the garden. That's it."

"Well, that is what I'm here for." Boocifer sighs, the smirk still prominent on his face. "The King has requested that you meet him on the patio. I'm here to take you there."

"Now?" I ask, eyes wide.

"Yes, now."

"Alright, please lead the way."

"Wait." Katherine steps between Boocifer and I. "We still have a lot to go over."

"And we can easily do that later." I say. "I'm a Plant Master, fixing a garden is a piece of cake." I smile. "We should be done by lunch, maybe a little later."

The Queens all stay silent as I move towards the door with Boocifer. I turn towards the Queens as I walk out the door and most of them are smiling at me and Anna is giving me thumbs up. I roll my eyes and follow Boocifer.

Boocifer and I make our way down the hall and past a room with a piano playing. It sounds pretty nice. We stop in front of a dark brown door and Boocifer turns to me.

"Y/N?" Boocifer asks.

"What is it?"

"You know you can tell me things, right?" Boocifer looks down, slightly embarrassed. "I know we haven't known each other for long but, I feel like we've established a strong bond."

"Boocifer..." I sigh. "I do know that I can trust you. If there is anything that you think that I am keeping from you, please, don't be afraid to ask." I place my hand on his head. "I will admit, there are things that aren't mine to tell, I will tell you what I can."

"Thank you." Boocifer smiles. "And what else did you and the King talk about?" He laughs with a toothy grin.

"Really?!" I sigh with a few giggles. "I already told you. We talked about the garden." I pause and think for a moment. "There was one more thing... we talked about how God awful the statue in the garden looks."

"The one of the Professor?" Boocifer questions. I nod. "Yes, we all distain it as well." Boocifer opens the door and leads me onto the patio. "Unfortunately, we might not be able to move it for a while."

I am just about to ask why when the King walks up to us. Boocifer and I bow as three other Boos follow the King.

"Hello, you two? Glad to see everyone is finally here." The King smiles.

A blur of white rushes past the King and right into me, knocking me off balence. A little voice comes from it. "Y/N!"

"I recognize that energetic voice!" I laugh. "And how are you today, Charlie?" I ask, hugging him back.

"I'm doing just fine! I can't wait to garden with you." He looks up at me with twinkling eyes.

"Come on, Charlie. Give the poor woman breathing room." Ronin, Charlie's dad, floats up us and tries to pry Charlie off me. "Charlie, please let go."

I laugh and try to help Ronin. "Charlie, I can't really garden properly with you stuck to my chest." That seems to get him to back up. Not before grabbing my hand with his little nub hands and, somehow, yanks my arm. For the second time this morning, I run right face first into the King's chest.

The King's laugh echoes through the garden as he grabs my arms to help me. "Are you alright?" He keeps chuckling.

"Yes, I'm just fine." I start laughing with him.

"I'm sorry!" Charlie apologizes, to who he directs it to, I can't tell.

I move towards Charlie and put my hand on his head. "It's alright. Look, no harm done." I smile. "Just please, be careful. Your strength might hurt someone."

"Okay!" He smiles.

"Well then, shall we get started?" The King's steps off of the patio steps and into the garden. He holds out a hand to me. "Do be careful, dear. The steps aren't in the best condition." I smile and take the King's hand, being careful to step down the steps. I look at the garden in it's current state and my smile fades. "Is everything alright?"

"It just looks worse down here..."

"That's what we're here for, isn't it?" The King takes my chin in his hand and turns my face to his. "The garden will look so much better now that you're here." He smiles, then looks to were Ronin, John, and Charlie were. "Do you three need help with that?" The King let's go of my chin and walks to them. 

I feel my face flush as Boocifer sneaks up behind me. "Nothing else happened?" Boocifer hints in my ear.

"I will kick you." I sigh, trying to cool down my face.

"And I will bite your foot off." He exposes his sharp teeth. I jump back, startled. "We all know that they're sharp enough." He snickers.

"Yeah, sure..." I trail off, taking a step away from Boocifer with unease.

He looks at me curiously and then pauses, a smile growing on his face. "Did you forget how sharp Boo teeth are?" He laughs.

"Yes! Okay? Perfect, now let's fix this garden already..." I sigh, making my way to the horrible statue. Boocifer is cackling behind me.

"What is going on with Boocifer?" John floats up to me. 

"He just finds some of my antics funny." I scratch my head. "Now, first thing's first. Let's get rid of this thing." We stop at the base of the E. Gadd statue.

"But we don't have what we need to get rid of it..." Charlie floats up next to me. Ronin, and King Boo are behind them and Boocifer seems to have recovered from his laughing fit.

"It is true..." The King sighs. "We don't have the means to move it or destroy it." He crosses his arms and looks down. "I must say, I forgot to order the means myself. To that, I apologize. We can get rid of it first thing tomorrow morning."

I look at all of them, dumfounded. Even Boocifer seems to have forgotten. "With all due respect, Your Majesty... How on Earth did you forget?"

He looks at me with a raised eyebrow. "You tend to forget certain equipment when dealing with the amount of paperwork handed to me."

"No, Sire. Not that. You and Boocifer seem to have forgotten that I can move rocks with my mind." I giggle. I punch the statue and it cracks under my fist. "Getting this thing out of the way will be a piece of cake." Everyone just kind of looks at me, shocked. Then Boocifer starts to laugh uncomfortably, his face paler than usual. "Still haven't gotten those giggles from earlier out?" I ask him, eyebrow raised.

"No, not really..." He trails off. "As you have stated, I've forgotten how naturally powerful you are..."

I laugh at his comment. "Nothing about my power is natural. I'm only able to do this because I trained past my breaking point." I cross my arms. "The only reason why I am what I am is because of a lot of blood sweat and tears."

"And who were the men who taught you." I feel a vein pop in my forehead when hearing that annoying voice.

"One guy taught me a few tricks for Airbending, but that's about it." I turn to Henry. "I'm pretty much self taught." I finish.

"Let's just get started." The King interjects before Henry can open his mouth. "Would you four like to get started on planting the seeds?" He turns to Charlie, Boocifer, Ronin, and John. "I'm going to help Y/N with were we can put this statue." 

"Yes, Sir!" Charlie does a salute and moves to were, I assume, the seeds and shovels are for planting and weeding.

"Now then, my dear." The King puts a hand on my shoulder. "This statue also has a secret to it. Look at the propellers." He points up at the red and yellow propellers of the statue. "The spin when enough air is going through. Then the statue lifts, revealing a little chamber that held the key to a door over on the patio."

"Point being, there's going to be a large hole in the ground." I scratch my chin as the King nods. "What if we burry it? I can easily destroy the thing so burring will be easy and we could use some of the dirt to fill in the hole."

"Marvelous idea, my dear!" The King praises me. "We can burry it right over there." He points to a spot on the other side of the fence.

"Sounds like a plan." I move away from the King. "Please take a step back." The Kings steps back and I take a deep breath. I step into a low back stance and punch one fist up and the other follows my straight leg. A rock launches the statue to the spot that the King motioned to and it lands with a loud thud. On impact, the statue broke just a little bit. "There we go." I turn to the King with a large smile and stand. I punch my hand towards the ground and the rock goes down into the dirt, leaving a square shaped hole in the ground where the secret compartment used to be. 

"So, you're just going to ignore me?" Henry sneers.

I sigh, my mood souring. "Yes, Henry. That's what people do when they don't like someone. That, or they kick the person till they bleed." I look at Henry with a sadistic smirk. "I can only do one of those."

This time, the King doesn't stop Henry. "Listen here, wrench." Henry's face turns red. "You maybe a guest right now but," Henry gets up in my face. "mark my words, the minute you leave this kingdom I will hunt you down."

"Henry!" The King's voice is stern.

My smirk has never left my face. "It's alright, Your Majesty. I personally would like to see him try." My smirk turn into a smile as I stare down Henry. "Let me get one thing clear with you, Henry. I am not afraid of you."

Henry is, once again, interrupted. This time, by Charlie. "Y/N! Your Majesty! We're done!" Charlie yells.

"Already?" I turn to Charlie, a gentle smile on my face. "Wonderful, guess that means it's my turn, huh?"

"Can we watch?" They tilt they're head to the side. "I don't know if it's rude to ask or not. Sorry if it is." Charlie's dads are shaking their heads behind him and Boocifer is chuckling.

"It's not rude at all!" I laugh. "I'll only ever ask you to leave when I'm Firebending. I don't want the light to hurt you." I pat his head.

"Really? Okay!" Charlie giggles. "Thank you!"

Everyone, even Henry, step back so I have enough space to work. I kneel down and place my hands on the soil beneath me. Concentrating, I will the plants to grow. Little rays of green light radiating from my palms, the grass grows into a deep green. I feel the roots of the Queen of the Night, Evening Primrose, and Datura. I listen to the seeds and will the stems to grow up and out of the dirt. Slowly, but surely, everything in their respective places bloom in a gorgeous moony white. There is a flower that I'm not entirely familiar with by the patio... it feels like...

"Deadly Nightshade?" I say out loud.

"Sorry, I really like the look and smell of Deadly Nightshade that I brought some seeds with me from home..." Charlie looks down. "I'm sorry..."

I look up at Charlie as I will the Deadly Nightshade to bloom. "There is nothing wrong with liking a certain type of flower. Personally, I agree with you about how it looks, can't day the same thing about the smell though." I look to the purple and black petals with black stems and leaves.

"Why don't you like the scent?" Charlie questions.

"I have to say, I'm pretty found of staying alive. If I go up and smell the Deadly Nightshade, I'll be dead before I pull my nose away." I reply, releasing my hold on the plants. "There, that looks nice." I smile at the many bushes of flowers and the clean, healthy grass.

"Wait. Deadly Nightshade hurts humans?" Charlie doesn't want to drop the subject.

"Yes." I sigh. "If I so much as smell the stuff, I will die."

"But, what's wrong with death? Look at us... aren't we okay?" They start to tear up.

"Charlie, it's not that at all." I console them. "For humans, death is pretty unpredictable and unpleasant... we worry what will happen to the relationships we made while we were alive, and we're scared as to what will happen when we do die. There isn't a guarantee for what will happen to us." I trail off. "Anyway. Do we have the seeds for ivy or Red Flare Lilies?" I ask, changing the subject.

"I didn't see any by the rest of the seeds..." Boocifer says.

"I suppose that the Haunted Towers doesn't have any." The King adds. Walking towards me, he rubs my arm as if to ask if I was okay.

I touch the King's hand and smile up at him. I'm just fine. Is what I want to say. Instead, I say. "That won't be a problem." I kneel down and the King follows me down. I take some dirt, grass, and rock in my fist.

The King looks at me curiously. "What are you doing?" He asks.

"A little thing you pick up when you become a Plant Master." Snare crawls down my arm, takes one of his vines and lashes one of my palms open. The King panics and takes out a handkerchief and tries to dab the blood away. "It's alright, Sire. This is part of the process." I reassure the King.

I breath and mix my blood with the earth together with both hands. Focusing my energy, I move everything into one fist, place my other hand over my closed fist, and crack my knuckles.

Everyone looks over my shoulder and at my fist. I slowly open my fist to reveal two different kinds of seeds. I take some of the ivy seeds I created and hand them to Charlie. "Could you please place these on the ground by those pillars?" I point to the balcony pillars. "Try to evenly place them, okay?"

Charlie nods enthusiastically. "Sure thing! But I don't need to plant them?"

"Nope." I smile. "You just need to place them evenly spaced out."

Charlie rushes to the balconies with their dads in tow. Boocifer, the King, and Henry stay near me as I stand up and brush my self off with my free hand. The King stands with me and he follows me to the large fountain. The three Cheep Cheep statues are standing tall.

In complete silence, the boys watch me dip my hand with the seeds in it, into the water. The water is a shining blue with the light of the moon reflecting off of the little ripples created after dipping my hand in. I take my free hand and lift it above the water and over my fist.

Opening my fist and revealing the seeds, I focus my energy into the them. As the green light pours out of my palms, the seeds start to glow with. The seeds sprout their roots and grow. With ease, the seeds grow into Lily pads and Red Flare Water Lilies. Blooming in the Moonlight, the Lilies float and spread out. The red is the perfect splash of colour for this garden.

"Incredible." The King comes up behind me. "I haven't seen a Plant Master work before... The power you and your people have is extraordinary." I turn around and look at the King's face. His magenta eyes are in awe, his jaw is slightly dropped. "I've only ever seen Air Masters Astral Project in such a way that they look like Spirits. But I have never seen anything quite like this."

"Well, I can't say I'm surprised." I look back to the little fountain. "Boocifer did mention that Boos and Spirits used to work with Airbenders a lot."

"Yes, we never really got to talk to any other benders." The King puts his hand on my back and turns me towards the balconies. "It is quite unfortunate that we didn't get to see that much bending other than Airbending."

I shrug at his comment. "It couldn't be helped. The Airbenders are the most spiritual of us all, it only makes sense that they had more of a chance to work with you than the rest of us." I follow his lead as he guides me to the next seeds. All the while, Henry is glaring daggers at the back of my head. Or at least, I assume it's Henry. When I turn my head towards him, he's looking at the Water Lilies. 

"I suppose..." The King sighs. We step in front of the pillars and he gestures to the seeds. "Please, show us your trick one more time."

I nod and take a step forward, the King's hand is still resting on my lower back as he takes it with me. I put my hands out in front of me and focus my energy, the green light, once again, radiates from my palms. I will the ivy to grow up and around the pillars of both balconies. More and more vines appear and leaves sprout on some of the edges. The vines make it up and over the railings of the balconies and I release the flow. I look up at the ivy with a large smile on my face. "Perfect." I sigh.

"Indeed, my dear." The King says. He has his hand out and purple mist is seeping from his palm. Out of the mist pops a single Deadly Nightshade blossom in full bloom. He gently takes it in his hand. Brushing the rogue strands of hair from my face, King Boo places the blossom behind my ear. "It's an illusion that you can touch and smell without any repercussions. It will only disappear when I will it too. Think of it as a 'thank you' gift." He caresses my face. "And an invitation to accompany to finish some business at the Haunted Towers next week."


	20. King Boo

Please, my dear. Say something. Y/N has only been silent for a few seconds, but the anticipation is killing me. Was I too forward? Should I have even asked her? Y/N's cheeks are dusted pink as she stands there, looking up at me. Her deeps eyes look onto me as if they are piercing my soul.

"I would be happy to, Sire." She finally says with a smile. I let out the breath I didn't realize I was holding in. "I do think that we should get to the rest of that statue though..." She looks back to the area where we left it.

"Of course, let's get on that right away." I sigh with a small smile. I'm sure she will love the celebration.

Y/N walks towards the statue and leaps the fence to take care of it. I float over to help anyway that I can. Y/N takes her foot and slams her heel down onto the center of the statue. The second that her heel makes contact, the statue crumbles into a large pile of rubble. Y/N then stomps her foot to the side and the ground opens up and swallows the remains of the statue. She turns to me and jumps a little. I can't help but chuckle at how startled she looks.

"Didn't see me here?" I tease. The Deadly Nightshade I put behind her ear just adds to her complexion, but I can't seem to understand why.

"...Yes, I didn't see you..." She sighs, smiling as she starts strolling over to me and hopping the fence. She walks over to the square shaped hole in the ground and, once again, stomps her foot down. Instead of the ground opening, it fills the hole. A patch of dirt is the only remaining sign of that statue ever being here. Then, Y/N's hands start to radiate green light once again. Grass grows in the once dead area of the garden and, since Boos and Spirits have been in Evershade Valley, the garden has never looked better.

"The garden looks fabulous, my dear." I put my hand on her shoulder as we both look to the completed garden. "I only wish I could have done more to help."

"Having a Plant Master around is just what we need." Charlie floats over to Y/N. "Can't you stay?" He asks her.

"I'm sorry, Charlie..." Y/N sighs. "I can't stay forever. I'm human, I need sunlight to stay alive." Y/N pats Charlie's head. "As long as it's okay with the King, I can visit."

"You can visit as much as you'd like, my dear." I quickly answer before she can ask. Almost too quickly.

Both of their eyes light up, Charlie's more so than Y/N's. Charlie starts vibrating from excitement. "Thank you, Your Majesty!" Charlie practically shouts as they rush over and give Y/N a hug.

"If you ask me, she shouldn't even set foot anywhere near Evershade Valley." Henry sneers.

Before any of us could respond, Anna's voice cuts into the conversation. "No one ever asked, Henry." Anna's up on the patio and glaring at Henry. She turns to Y/N. "I was coming to tell you to meet us in the Library after you were done, Kind." Anna looks all around the garden in awe. "But it looks like you're finished, and boy, does it look great!" She looks to Y/N. "Are you done? 'Cause we still have quite a bit to get through. We only did the warm up." She raises a brow.

"Hold on... That was the warm up?" Y/N's face is full of shock. "You had me balance books on my head for two hours."

"Yeah, warm up." Anna crosses her arms over her chest. She turns on her heel and walks to the door. "You coming?" She looks to Y/N over her shoulder.

"Um, sure." Y/N turns to me, an apologetic look crosses her face. "So sorry, Your Majesty." She bows and rushes after Anna. Before entering the mansion, she turns to me and gives me a small smile and wave.

My 'heart' flutters a little at the sight. What is this? What am I, a Japanese middle school girl? I shake my head to try and come to my sense. I simply enjoy spending time with such a strong young lady. I think.

"Sire?" Charlie asks. "Are you okay?"

"Hm?" I turn to them. "Why wouldn't I be? I feel just fine."

"Well, sir." Charlie looks down, embarrassed. "It just seems that your face is turning red..."

I jump a little at their comment. Turning red? What is happening to me? "You needn't worry, I am just fine. Thank you for your concern." I smile to Charlie.

Charlie nods and their dads come up to us. "Thank you for inviting us to help with the garden, Your Majesty." John says to me as Ronin takes Charlie's hand. "We appreciate it and are very happy with the results."

"The pleasure was mine." I nod. "Thank you for coming out today. Have a safe trip home, you three." I wave them goodbye. As they leave, all while Charlie was waving back, I looked around for Boocifer and Henry. "Now were did they go off too?"

"Don't know. It's good luck for me though." I groan and turn to the source of the voice. Standing behind one of the balcony pillars is Luciel. She has a dark look on her face as looks at her nail, picking them. "I get you all to myself." She looks to me as she says this.

"I have some work to do, so I'll just leave you to admire the garden." I straighten up and make my way to the patio. "Good day."

"Why would you invite her to the Dark Day celebration? She hasn't been here for more than two days." Luciel questions me, making her way in front of me. I step around her, trying to get to the door. "Honestly, it's like your crying for attention."

I stop, then keep going. She doesn't deserve my attention. I tell my self as I reach for the doorknob. She will not get the satisfaction of a reaction from me.

"That hussy wants nothing to do with you. She probably only what's to be able to say that she fucked The Infamous King Boo." Luciel taunts.

I start seeing red as I grip the doorknob tighter. How dare she disrespect Y/N like that! I take a deep breath and calm my thoughts. My grip starts to loosen as I look at her over my shoulder. "Y/N is a charming young lady who only wants to help her people." I say sternly. "She'll be gone the minute Adam arrives anyway." I look down to the doorknob with a sinking feeling in my stomach. I open the door and walk away before Luciel can say anything more.

Closing the door, I lean against it and let out a rather large sigh. "She'll be gone..." I can't help but feel a pit in my stomach start to grow. "What am I even talking about? There is no chance that a human like her would have any feelings like that towards a creature like me." I chuckle and bring my hand up to my face. "I'm the Evil King Boo! No human wants anything to do with my unless they're dead!" I start laughing at my idiocy.

"...What...?" I feel something running down my cheek. Wiping my cheek, I look at the little dribble of liquid in my hand. "I'm... crying?" Quickly, I reach into my pocket and take out my handkerchief. The same one that I was going to stop Y/N's hand from bleeding. Dapping the tears away from my eyes, I look towards the library.

I'm sure it won't hurt to look in on what is happening in there... Just to see what exactly they are teaching her. I try to convince myself as I make my way to the large doors.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN?! THAT IS EXACTLY HOW ELEMIRAS LOOKS!" I hear Katherine screaming.

I swiftly open the doors to the library and step in. "Is everything alright in here?" I ask, worried.

The scene that I see before me is quite something. Kate is sitting on the piano bench and has her fingers over the keys while Anne is sitting on the grand piano. Anna is balancing twelve books in her hands and Jane is putting some of them away. Kathy appears to be holding Katherine back from Y/N. As for Y/N, she is standing there with her hands up in a defensive fighting position, the face she is making is a mix of amusement and concern. It's quite cute, actually.

"Just a small misunderstanding, Sire." Kathy says while still holding Katherine. "Katherine has her heart set on what Elemiras looks like right now."

"I'm afraid I don't understand." I raise an eyebrow as the Queens turn to Y/N.

"Well, the Queens were teaching me about geography to help fill in some holes from my countries school system." Y/N starts to explain. "We were studying Europe when we got to a... very old map of Elemiras."

"It is up to date." Katherine insists.

"How long has it been since any of us have been to Elemiras?" Anne sighs.

"Exactly! Let Y/N tell us what the country she grew up in looks like." Anna glares at Katherine from behind the stack of books in her arms. "I don't correct you on what Spain used to look like now do I?"

Katherine looks down, knowing she can't win this argument. Kathy starts to loosen her grip on Katherine as Y/N continues. "I was looking at the map and said 'that's not Elemiras'." Y/N rubs the back of her neck, embarrassed. "I didn't recognize my own country... It just looks so different." She turns to the table next to her, staring at the map.

I walk over to the table and look over her shoulder. On the map is a large circular shape. The North and South have areas marked Water Tribes, the East side is marked as the Earth Kingdom. The West is the Fire Nation and in four different areas are the Air Temples, one in each little province. In the very center of the map is a small circle marked Elementum. Finally, similar to the Air Temples, there are four different markings of Plant Villages in each direction.

"I understand that this map is quite outdated, but not recognizing your country? Has that much really changed?" I ask Y/N.

"Yes, a lot has changed." She says after some hesitation.

"What exactly has changed?" I urge her to go on.

"Well, only two things are similar between this map and what Elemiras looks like now." She replies. "The placement of the capital and the shape of Elemiras. Everything else is just so unfamiliar... but this looks so much better, it looks more like a world map than a country's map." She smiles brightly.

Kathy goes next to Y/N with a pen and paper. "Here, I think we'd all get a better understanding on how it looks now if you draw us a map."

"Thank you, Kathy. I think that would be best too." Y/N accepts the paper and pen.

Taking a breath, Y/N places the paper on the table and starts to move the pen. She draws a large circle and a smaller one roughly in the middle. She then divides the circle into fifths. In the Northern part of the map, she writes Waterbenders. Going clock wise, she writes Firebenders then Earthbenders, Airbenders, and finally, Plantbenders. She then drew little two little circles in the Plantbenders area, one of them is closer to the capital and the other is almost right next to the large circle.

"This is the basic layout of my country. The small circles I put in the Plantbenders are the two major cities in the province. This one," Y/N points to the little circle closest to the circle. "is the city that Boocifer and I were imprisoned in."

"Why aren't there any other small circles?" Jane asks while putting the last book away.

"I haven't seen a map of the entirety of Elemiras since... a year ago? I think?" Y/N sighs. "We weren't taught anything that involved outside of our province. Well, unless you are a Plant Master, then you're taught the bare minimum about the rest of the country. That's it."

"How horrible!" Katherine decides to join in. "You and your people have every right to learn about your country and culture."

"I couldn't agree with you more." Y/N sighs, shaking her head.

"I remember that you mentioned not being able to leave your province..." I reach my hand out to touch her shoulder, but stop. Pulling my hand back, I ask: "How did they accomplish this?"

"Well, the lines I drew aren't just there to show were the provinces end and start. They're walls." She grips the pen tighter. "They're about fifty meters tall and line with steel. Barely anyone knows what the walls are exactly made of under the steel and no one dares to find out."

The room falls into a heavy silence. No one knows what to say or do. Walls that no one can get over? This is worse then I could have imagined. I finally build up some ounce of courage to ask her: "Is anyone doing anything to revolt?"

Everyone seems surprised at my question, Y/N even stiffens up. "There have been multiple attempts to gather people against the Larsens, but it never got them far." Y/N says after some hesitation. "Fifty lashes is the usual for treason, and gathering people for a mutiny is treachery. I got the long end of the stick when they lashed me thirty times."

"The standard is fifty lashes..?" Kate says in disbelief.

"Yes." I can see tears fall from her cheeks as she starts shaking. "I have seen so many people die because of fifty lashes. Some times, when Henry or Damien were in a sour mood, they'd bump it up to one-hundred." Y/N is now shaking as if she were freezing to death. "All of the ones that I have seen ended with the person on the lashing post dying long before the lasher got to one hundred." She chokes out, it's hard to understand what she is saying.

Before I even think, I feel my body move towards her. I grip her shoulders, tears brimming my eyes and I pull her into my chest. My hands sneak through her arms and wrap around her waist, I rest my head on top of hers. Holding her tightly, I lightly caress her back. "If you ever need a shoulder to cry on, I am here for you." I whisper to Y/N. She is still shaking terribly but I feel her body start to relax as she buries her head into my chest. As she starts to sob, I can feel her arms slowly move up and wrap around me. Gripping my tightly, she cries into my chest while I continuously rub her back to try and help.

I notice the Queens starting to leave the room, Kathy does come up to me and whispers their reasoning. "We think it's a good idea to let the council know of the changes so we will spilt up to tell everyone incase we will be getting those Boos out soon."

I nod as a subtle way of saying that it's a good plan and to dismiss her. When the door closes, Y/N and I are alone in the library, holding each other and crying. Y/N is crying for the hardships that her people have been and are currently facing, I am crying for the hardships she has faced. After a few minutes in this position, I feel Y/N gently push away and I, reluctantly, release my grip on her. To my surprise, and gratitude, Y/N only pulls her head away from my chest. Her hands are resting on my chest and my hands are holding her hips.

"Why are you being so kind to me?" Y/N asks me, her eyes red and puffy.

I take one of my hands from her waist and bring it up to my chest pocket. Taking out my handkerchief, I start to gently dry the tears on her face. "You are a very strong woman who has been through her own version of Hell. I am kind to you because I want to be, because I want you to be happy." I pause. "I want to make you happy."

Y/N takes my hand as it rests on her cheek. "Thank you, for everything." She sighs. "I can't express how grateful I am in words." She lowers her hands and wipes the rest of her tears away. 

"It's been my pleasure, my dear." I say as I break out into a cold sweat. I could have sworn that she was going on about kissing me. 

We hear a knock at the door and a voice call through. "Sire, Miss L/N? Is it alright if we enter?" Anna asks.

I look to Y/N to see if she is okay. She nods her head with a gentle smile. "Yes, you may." I shout back to Anna.

The door opens and in comes the six Queens. "We brought Y/N some food, since it is around lunch time." Anna explains as she bring the food over to Y/N. I simply nod.

"I better get going, Ladies. Thank you for your patience." I say before I walk over to the door. As I step out into the hallway, I look back to the scene behind me. Jane has gotten Y/N a chair and has put it next to the table that Anna placed the food on. Katherine is going over the new lesson plan for Y/N so she gets a break from Geography. Anne and Kate are back in their spots by the piano and Kathy has placed herself next to Kate by the piano. Y/N is standing at the table with the food and now rolled up maps. Locking eyes with Y/N, I give her a small wave and a court smile. She returns the gesture as I close the door, once again, hoping that Luciel's words don't have any truth in them.


	21. Y/N

Shit! I mentally curse as I spill tea on my dress. Anne is at my side in a flash with a stack of napkins. "I'm sorry, I just can't get ahold of this." I sigh out an apology.

"It's alright, Y/N." Anne rubs my shoulder. "This stuff happens." She reassures me.

"Doesn't mean I don't feel bad." I look down at the stain on the light blue dress. "This isn't even mine..."

"Are you alright? You just seem distracted..." Kathy asks.

"I guess I am..." I reply, lifting my hand up to my ear were the Deadly Nightshade Illusion is.

I take the Deadly Nightshade from my ear and bring it up to my nose. I close my eyes as I take in the soft fragrance. Every time I smell the flower, the fragrance consistently reminds me of yesterday in the garden. The memory is linked to this scent. I can't stop thinking about yesterday in the garden... and the library.

"It happens, especially since you have a date with the King next week." Anne teases me.

I feel my face flush red. "I- it's not like that!" I stutter out, the memory of King Boo and the way he asked me floods my vision. His gentle touch, his kind eyes, and sweet, low voice. I shake my head, trying to bring myself to my senses. "He asked me to help him complete some business over at Haunted Towers." I look out to the completed garden from my balcony.

The garden has done nothing but flourish and there are Boos and Spirits constantly visiting. Not a day goes by when I haven't seen at least three Boos in the garden at once. A few times, I have seen Charlie and their family there and we chatted for a little bit. Otherwise, random Boos and Spirits have come up to me and thanked me, it's sweet.

"That's a workaholic's way of asking you out." Kate sings from behind me.

"What is with you and Anne?" I laugh as my face flushes again. "Seriously, I'm sure it doesn't mean what you think it means."

"Well, kind," Anna pipes up. "None of us can ignore the looks you two give each other."

"What looks?!" I shout. Katherine laughs as she pulls me over to the changing screen, a new dress is waiting for me. "We just look at each other when we talk to each other." I shake my head. 

"Oh! And what do you call those side glances that you keep giving each other when the other's not looking?" Anne giggles.

"...What..?" I am genuinely confused. "I've been giving side glances to the King?" 

"You didn't know?!" Kate and Anne burst out laughing. "There's also the whole thing that happened in the library yesterday." Kate adds between fits of laughter.

If my face was pink earlier, it's absolutely is red now. "I have no comment." I say as steadily as I can while the memory plays on loop in my head. I almost kissed him. Me, a runaway without a home, tried to kiss King Boo. 

As the Queens laugh at me, I vividly remember yesterday's events. The King was holding me as we both cried. I remember wanting to reach up to him and dry his tears. I didn't want to see him sad. No, I don't want to see him upset. I can still feel his arms around me and I wish that they still were there, holding me close. I was able to stop my self from holding his face and kissing him. 

I can't just kiss King Boo! What would he think?! That I'm trying to seduce him? Not to mention, I don't entirely know how he feels about me... My head is spinning as the Queens calm down a little.

Katherine is giggling as she hands me the new dress. "Here, this will look nice." She turns to the rest of the Queens. "I think we should stop here for today. I mean, we can't teach her every hour of every day. That's just too much."

As all the Queens nod in agreement, I get an idea. "Katherine?" She turns to face me. "Is there anything that I can wear that is for working out? Like pants, a sports bra, and a tank top?" I ask.

"Since you thought of something that you would like, the room should be able to provide it. Why?" She questions me.

"Yeah, what do you plan on exercising for? Your body looks fabulous and guys don't like sweaty girls." Anne adds.

"Well, I don't train for guys. I train so that my bending is consistent and fluid." I reply. "I do have a personal goal for my bending, actually. I want to master every element."

"And how many elements do you have left to master?" Jane asks as she goes into the closet.

"Two; Water and Air."

"Wait, you've mastered Fire, Earth, and Plants?" Kathy gasps, eyes wide.

"Yes."

"That's incredible!" Jane strolls in the room with pants, a tank top, and a sports bra. "I mean, you almost mastered everything! Isn't that exciting?" Jane hands me the clothes and closes the changing screen.

"I am pretty proud of how far I've come with my bending, but I do have a long way to go." I start to get the simple, blue, tea stained dress off of my body.

"What do you mean?" Kathy asks. "I understand that you have two elements left to master but you don't have that far to go."

As I pull the sports bra over my head, I explain. "You see, Plant Masters mentor promising Plantbenders. My Master would always tell me this: 'Even when you become a Master, you never stop learning.'." I smile at his words as I throw on the Yoga pants Jane gave me. "Everyday, I learn more and more about each Bending group and how I can improve my bending to match what job needs to get done."

"I like the lesson your Master taught you." Katherine nods. "I proves that no one knows everything."

I nod in agreement. "My Master also taught me that I will never be the best. There will always be someone who is better at some form of bending than myself." I smile as I throw the tank top over my head. 

"Well that isn't very nice. He should be encouraging you!" Anna huffs.

"But he did encourage me." I say, stepping out of the heels they had me wearing. "That lesson was to make sure I kept my ego in check." I step out from behind the screen. "I have to say, it did help. I know that if he praised me on everything I did all the time, I would have ended up like Henry." I sigh as I pull my hair back. I feel Snare move from his usual spot and wraps himself around my hair, securing it.

"Which one? Our ex or yours?" Anne asks. 

"Okay, first," I laugh a little. "Henry isn't my ex, he just proposed out of no where. I barely even met the guy. Secondly," I start to walk to the door. "Both."

We go into the hallway and Kathy starts to lead us down the hall. "So, what are you planning on practicing?" She asks.

"Airbending, that's the bending style that I have the most difficulty with." I pause. "If I can, I might practice my Waterbending too. But I am pretty close to Mastering it."

"What else do you need to work on for Waterbending?" Anna asks.

"My reflexes..." I rub the back of my neck as we go down the stairs into the main hall. "I need to use Waterbending more when I'm surrounded by water and not resort to Earthbending..." I laugh nervously.

"How much space do you need for this?" Kathy asks. "I was thinking we should go out to the entrance or just beyond the garden out front."

"That space should work perfectly." I smile. 

"Works perfectly for what, little one?" I hear Maya's voice from behind me. 

I turn towards Maya with a large smile on my face. Mr. Riel and Henry are also with her. "Oh, good morning." I smile to them. "I don't want my bending to be too rusty so the Queens and I are going outside for some practice."

"And what kind of bending will you be practicing, Ms. L/N?" Mr. Riel asks.

"Airbending." I simply state, keeping an eye on Henry. Henry does decide to speak up.

"Well, you need permission-"

"She has it." Mr. Riel interrupts Henry. "She plans on training off the grounds of the mansion and he is being supervised."

"Even if she needed to be supervised, which she doesn't," Maya adds on. "there are enough of these lovely ladies to help keep bystanders safe incase of a mistake." 

"Thank you very much, Mr. Riel and Maya." I say, laughing a little at Henry's silence. 

"I only ask one thing, Ms. L/N." Mr. Riel takes a step towards me. "May I watch for a few minutes? I am quite curious as to how bending works."

"I don't see a problem." I smile. "Feel free to ask questions, I'll answer them to the best of my ability." 

"I certainly will." Mr. Riel smiles as he starts walking with us. "I will see you two later." He turns to Maya and Henry.

We all leave Gloomy Manor in a comfortable silence. As we pass the smaller garden, I take a good look at it. It's pretty small but definitely well kept. The flowers that are all there are standing tall and strong. I spot some Boos there and notice that they're tending to the garden as I wave to them. They wave back after turning away the Deadly Nightshade they are harvesting. One Boo is tending to some Japanese Wisteria that I didn't see when I first came to the mansion. I can't help but smile at them as we walk past the gate, Japanese Wisteria have to be some of my favorite flowers.

We continue to move until we're about 20ft from the manor. Not too close to the manor or the forest, the happy medium. Katherine turns to me with her hands on her hips. "Alright, is this space good?"

"This is perfect, thank you!" I smile at her and Katherine returns it. "Would you all please back up a little bit?" 

Everyone backs up just enough for me to have enough space to practice without blowing anyone away, literally. I take my stance and start my warm up. Punching to the side, I create a blast of air directed to the forest. Continuing with fluid and some snappy motions, I go through the form. After every strike, a burst of air flies from my palm or fist. After about 3 minutes, I finally finish the form with sweat drenching my brow.

"...is that it..?" Anne asks while I start to stretch. 

I laugh as I go into the splits. "No, that was my warm up. I just need to stretch so I don't hurt myself."

"I do have a question, if you don't mind." Mr. Riel speaks up as I touch my side to my right knee. I gesture him to go on. "What exactly was that? I haven't seen people fight nothing before."

"Oh, it's called a Kata or a Form." I explain. "It's a series of strikes, blocks, and stances that different kinds of Martial Arts use to help train students. It's great for building up strength, stamina, and technique. A Kata is also one Hell of a cardio work out." I finish as I touch my side to my left knee. "Back in Elemiras every element, excluding Plants, is also it's own Martial Arts style. Airbending has a lot of twisting movements with hard strikes at the end, there aren't that many blocks when it comes to Airbending. You also have to be exceptionally light on your feet, like a feather. You also need to look for your angles. If something isn't working, try a different approach." I continue to explain, bringing my feet in together and going into a Butterfly Stretch. "Earthbending has more stiff movements and hard strikes. Earthbending focuses more on sturdy stances and blocking, and the striking will always be powerful and precise. Earth is the only element that doesn't move on it's own, it's stubborn . Unlike Airbending, it's pretty straight forward, you just hit the rock and it moves." Putting both my legs in front of me, I reach for my toes getting a good stretch in my calves. "Waterbending is full of pushing and pulling movements, like ocean water. Everything with Waterbending is full of flowing movements with some snap here and there. Waterbending is adaptable and flexible." I stand up and start to stretch my arms and shoulders. "Firebending is all about breath. Fire is fairly dangerous and harder to control than the other elements so we need to really focus on control and grounding ourselves. Firebending has some flowing movements and a lot of snapping strikes. Firebending takes a lot of patience, practice, and persistence." I finish.

"Wow... that's incredible." Kathy gasps.

"I only just scraped the surface, but I don't think I'll be able to explain the rest that well to you guys." I say, apologetically.

"Because we aren't Elementals?" Anna asks.

"Exactly... sorry." I nod.

"Don't worry about it, Ms. L/N. We understand." Mr. Riel puts a hand on my shoulder. 

"Thank you, Mr. Riel." I smile to him.

"My turn for a question." Jane floats up to us. "What is Plantbending? That is, what sets it apart from everything else?" She questions.

"Well, Plantbending is more like bending energy in plants and seeds. I take my energy and give it to the plants so that they grow faster then without Plantbenders." I tilt my head to the side. "Does that make sense?"

"Yes, but what about it not being a Martial Art?" Jane pushes. "Why isn't it a Martial Art?"

"Plantbending is healing and pacifistic survival." I pause. "It... well, um." I try to come up with the words. "We need to be grounded and, when we start out, all of our focus has to be on what we're growing. We can grow food easily and, when we've grown the Devil's Snare, we can grow an Angel's Lily."

"Alright." Jane nods, pondering my words. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." I pause. "You know, I actually would love some help with working on my footwork." 

"What do you need us to do?" The rest of the Queens have joined us as Katherine asks me this.

"This is going to sound really weird but," I hesitate. "I need you all to throw stuff at me while I run through the forest..." They all stare at me, as if I'd gone mad. "I know. I know. It's really weird but it'll help me with keeping an eye out as well as dodging."

After quite a bit of silence, Mr. Riel starts to laugh a little. "Well, if it's what'll help, why not?" He shrugs. "Besides, you are the one who asked. It's not like we suggested it."

The Queens turn and look at eachother, then smile. "Alright," Kate giggles. "Too the forest!"

~ ~ ~

I regret this. I think as I try to get some air in my lungs. Anne and Kate are laughing their asses off while leaning on a tree. Kathy, Jane and Anna are next to me as I try to steady my breath. Finally, Katherine and Mr. Riel are behind us, shaking their heads.

"I will admit, not my best idea..." I say between breaths.

"That's all you have to say about this?" Katherine scolds. "You look almost as bad as you did when you first got here!"

She is absolutely right, I'm covered head to toe in splatters of mud, grass, and leaves. Anne did take the opportunity to throw sharp rocks so I know have a few cuts too.

"Who knew Anne had such a good arm and aim." I snort. Turning to Mr. Riel, I apologize. "You probably had more important things to do instead of watching me get hit with mud and rocks. My apologies."

"Relax, young lady." Mr. Riel comes over to me and puts a hand on my shoulder. "No need to worry, I finished all my work this morning. Besides, this was quite entertaining." He chuckles.

I can't help but give a little chuckle as well while I straighten up. One thing I've learned about Mr. Riel is that he is stern but, very understanding.

"Sorry to bother but, what in the Underworlds is going on here?" I hear a voice behind me.

"Hi, Boocifer!" I chuckle. "We were just training." I turn to face him and stop. Turns out, he isn't alone. Standing in front of me is Boocifer, Henry, Maya, and King Boo. All of them have very confused looks on their faces.

"But why are you covered in mud?" Boocifer rushes up to me and tries to wipe the mud off with his nub hand things. "You've just been healed and you're already hurting yourself." He scolds.

"I'm not hurt." I sigh, looking at him. "They're just a few cuts."

"But they can get infected with all that mud, little one." Maya sighs.

"Fair point." I punch my open hands down to the ground and all the dirt, mud, grass, and leaves drop off my body and onto the ground. "Now I'll be just fine." I grin like a child.

Maya and Henry look to the ground, trying to contain their laughter. The King and Boocifer aren't as subtle. Boocifer is cackling while the King is chuckling. Boocifer's cackle is the first Boo cackle I've ever heard. It kind of sounds like a young child's laugh, but higher pitched. Which is weird since his voice is typically lower.

"Might I ask why everyone is out here?" Mr. Riel questions.

Boocifer's cackling subsides along with the King's laughter. "Boocifer and I came by to tell Y/N that Avery and Chief Potamalu will be leaving tomorrow." The King says, a kind smile still gracing his face. "It has been quite sometime since you've been exposed to sunlight, they were wondering if you wished to join them for the day."

"Oh! I didn't realize that they haven't gone home yet." I'm shocked. "I would like to see some sunlight again..." I sigh.

"But you don't want to miss Adam when he returns?" Boocifer finishes as I slowly nod.

The King stands in silence for a moment as the Queens rush around me. "I'm sure we can discuss things with Chief Potamalu about you returning tomorrow night." The King smiles at me. 

"Really?" He nods. "You really don't need to do that, Your Majesty." I say quickly.

"Non-sense, it would be my pleasure." He gives me a charming smile as Anne nudges me with her elbow.

"Thank you." I return his smile as I try to wave Anne away. "Thank you very much."


	22. King Boo

"Is everything alright, Sire?"

I turn to Y/N as she's holding my arm. We've stopped walking and are standing in the main hall, I can hear the soft tickling of water from the Cheep Cheep fountain. "Yes, my dear. I'm fine." I reassure her. "Just lost in thought is all." We continue to walk so that we get to the foyer before Avery and Chief Potamalu leave.

"I'm sorry, Sire." I look at her, very confused. "But I am curious on what you were thinking about." 

I sigh a laugh. "My dear? Don't you know curiosity killed the cat?" I tease as we walk past the suits of armor in the hall.

"Oh I am familiar with it." Y/N chuckles. "But you should know that satisfaction brought it back." She smirks.

"I suppose you're correct, my dear." I chuckle with her. "I am simply thinking about..." I pause. Do I really want to tell her now...? "I was thinking about... how you've only been here for a short amount of time and are already leaving." Not a lie, I was thinking about how she is leaving. "I suppose what I am trying to say is that I will miss you today, my dear." I smile at her.

She seems to have noticed my hesitation but, thankfully, says nothing of it. Instead, she says, "I'm flattered, Sire. I must admit, I believe that I will miss you as well..." she trails off, a light shade of pink dusts her cheeks as she looks to the ground.

I take my free hand and reach over to her. Cupping her cheek in my hand, I turn her face towards me. "Now it's my turn to be flattered, my dear." I smile gently as I reach for the door to the entrance. I open the door and we both are met with greetings from Avery and Chief Potamalu.

"Good morning." I greet in turn.

"How are you both this morning?" Y/N asks.

"We are doing just fine, young lady." The chief responds with a large smile on his face. "How about you two? How are you?"

"Wonderful!" Y/N's smile grows. "I can't wait to see your home!" 

"I am doing quite well myself. Thank you for asking."

"That's wonderful." Avery pipes up. "I'm glad the days have been treating you both well." He walks up to Y/N and puts a hand on her shoulder, the other is holding the box that the Angel's Lily is stored in. "But I do need to ask you, Y/N... How's your mental health?"

Y/N starts laughing as Avery's face remains completely serious. The chief looks concerned and I feel my concern rising as well. "My trauma is doing alright." Y/N finally says after her laughter subsides to giggling. "I haven't had any nightmares if that's what you're asking." She shrugs.

"You were lashed thirty times by your country's leader for..." The chief pauses. "I'm not sure what for, actually."

"Refusing a marriage proposal." Y/N doesn't hesitate.

"Go ahead, say it even more casually." I sigh, shaking my head. Avery and Chief Potamalu are in shocked silence and Y/N has started giggling once again.

I usually can't help but smile at her laughter but, she doesn't sound like herself. Y/N's laughter and giggles are usually so full of joy. Not these ones, the sound forced. As if she wants to laugh but is too uncomfortable with the previous topic.

"Well, none of us are getting any younger." She smiles but, it too, is somewhat forced. "Let's get going."

"I suppose that would be a good idea." I say as I place my hand on Y/N's shoulder, walking her to the doors.

"Alright... let's get going." Chief Potamalu sighs after some hesitance.

"But-" Avery starts.

"The day is getting shorter and we have a long journey ahead of us." The Chief raises his hand, silencing Avery. "Besides, Y/N seems uncomfortable discussing this subject." Avery sighs and nods as he joins us at the door.

Not wanting to remove my hand from Y/N, I flick my free hand to the side and the large French doors open. We all step out side and make our way to the Haunted Forest in silence. The only sound that can be heard is the crunching of leaves as our feet step on them.

As we reach the forest, Y/N breaks the silence. "Oh, I almost forgot." She turns to Avery and hands him a piece of folded paper. "This is the Incantation for the Angel's Lily." Avery takes the paper in his hand and unfolds it to read it. "I wrote it both in the original Latin verse and the English verse. That way, you and your tribe can translate it to what works best for you."

Avery's face lights up as he reads over the paper. "Thank you so much, Y/N! This is perfect!" Avery pulls Y/N into a careful hug, as to not catch her too off guard and to not drop the Angel's Lily. "We can save most of our terminally ill patients now." Truly, i have never seen Avery this happy before.

Y/N hugs Avery back as I remove my hand so I don't impose. "I'm glad, but that's not all." Y/N's smile grows as she pulls away. "Unfortunately, Angel's Lilies can't have their petals grown back but... I can grow another one for you so your patients that can't speak will get some relief."

Avery and I are left speechless as the the chief walks up to Y/N, tears brimming his eyes. "You would do that for us?" Y/N nods. "You can do this..? You're capable?"

"Once a Plant Master has grown an Angel's Lily once, the next time will be much easier." Y/N explains as we start to walk through the forest again. "After growing it the first time, our bodies have adjusted to the amount of energy we use to grow it."

"That does make sense." I nod.

"If you will be growing an Angel's Lily for us, what do you need so that you and the Lily will be healthy?" Chief Potamalu asks.

"At this point, sunlight and some space." I turn to her, confusion spreads across my features. "I have a lot of experience." She shrugs.

I chuckle, I shake my head. "My dear, you've peaked my interest." I sigh. "What circumstances are needed when Plant Masters are growing an Angel's Lily for the first time?"

"I'm curious as well." Avery agrees.

"Well..." she trails off, rubbing the back of her neck. "I needed a cloudless day, on the summer solstice. It also needs to be at the highest point that I can get too and I needed to have a lot of energy at that point so I wouldn't die..." she gives us a small laugh. "I drank two energy drinks that morning so I was sure that I could grow an Angel's Lily."

"Then you needed to sing the incantation?" Avery ask, putting the paper with the incantation in his pocket.

"Yep." Y/N nods.

"What would have happened if you didn't have enough energy?" The chief asks. What would have happened... would she have died..?

"I would have used up all the energy it takes for me to breath, to think, and to keep my heart beating. All of it would have gone into the Angel's Lily." She shrugs once again, as if death isn't permanent. "The Angel's Lily would have also taken my soul so that the Lily would survive." She finishes with a quite voice.

"That's horrible! What made you think that you could grow an Angel's Lily knowing death would be on the line?" Avery is frantic.

"The same reason I was able to summon Snare." Y/N rubs the back of her neck as we approach the mist. "I was young, dumb, and didn't fully understand the consequences of my actions."

"My Dear, you're still young." I smile. "At what age are you referring too?"

"I was thirteen..." She laughs uncomfortably after a moment's hesitation.

We all stop and stare at her as we reach the mist. "That is quite the risk, young lady." Chief Potamalu chuckles.

"And I fully understand that now." She giggles. "My thirteen year old self? Not so much."

I, reluctantly, speak up. "I suppose that this is where I leave you all." I sigh. "I wish you all the best and a safe journey."

Chief Potamalu takes my hand and shakes it. "Thank you for your hospitality and I look forward to working with you again."

"And thank you for giving me a chance to redeem myself." I nod with a smile. "I assure you, you won't regret it." I finish, bowing my head. As I turn to Y/N, I resist the urge to pull her into a hug. "And you, my dear, if Adam returns today at all, I will send for you immediately."

"Thank you, Sire." She smiles. Y/N opens her mouth, as if to say something else but quickly choses against it.

"Let's get going, we don't want Gran to get mad at us." Avery laughs.

"Ow!" Y/N exlaims, rubbing the back of her head.

"Are you alright?" I ask, concerned.

"Yeah, Snare just decided that it would be funny to yank my hair out of my head." She sighs, slightly annoyed. She pulls a contracting Snare from her hair, glaring at him. "Jerk."

Snare continues to wiggle his vines as communication to Y/N. I look to the mist as to not impose but Snare takes one of his vines and wraps it around my wrist. Looking towards Snare I watch his movements to know what he wants.

"Sorry to interrupt but, what is going on." Avery asks, slightly confused.

"I'm afraid I'm just as confused as you are, Avery." I furrow my brows. "Snare doesn't seem to want to talk to me." I turn to Y/N, who hasn't taken her eyes off of Snare. "My dear, would you please enlighten us?"

Y/N sighs and shakes her head at Snare. "Snare likes it here in Evershade Valley and doesn't want to leave unless it's necessary." She pauses, looking at Snare as he continues. "He wants me to ask you, Sire," she looks up to me, a playful smile graces her face. "If you'll let him stay with you until I return." I feel Snare's grip tighten around my arm, pleadingly.

"I would be happy too, wouldn't want him to be exposed to too much sunlight." I chuckle as Snare crawls up my arm and sits on my shoulder.

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Y/N bows as she, Avery, and Chief Potamalu move to the mist.

And just like that, she was gone. Y/N went into the mist with Avery and Chief Potamalu. She only turned around to give me a little wave.

I freeze for a moment as I realize that I already miss her presence.

No! Stop it. She isn't gone forever. I slap my hands to my face, trying to bring some sense back. She'll be back tonight. Turning back to the path to the Mansion, my mind races with thoughts. Y/N will be back tonight... But she will be gone after Adam arrives.

I sigh as I run my hand though my 'hair' and take in the sights of the forest surrounding me. I feel a slight breeze as I stare up at the trees while I walk. A few of the smaller branches start to shake as I pass below them. Some animal spirits scamper across my path and into a shrubbery nearby and Snare rests peacefully on my shoulder, only moving slightly when a breeze passes. The atmosphere is almost peaceful, as peaceful as a haunted valley can be, that is. That peacefulness is, unfortunately but not surprisingly, interrupted.

"Your Majesty!" I hear a voice shout.

"Yes, what is it?" I ask

A Boo rushes up to me looking a little tired. It's the very same Boo that accompanied Boocifer home a few days ago. I recall her name is Ally. "Sire, there is something that you should know about the young human that saved Boocifer." She seems distressed.

"About Y/N?" I'm confused. "Please calm down and tell me slowly." 

Ally relaxes and starts to explain. "May I just say that I know that Y/N has been kind to every Boo and Spirit that she has encountered and I respect her for that..."

"But?"

"There are rumors circling around, Sire."

"What kind of rumors?" I ask, keeping my annoyance out of my voice. What sort of rumors would circulate about her?

"That Y/N is a convicted felon and could, potentially hurt us..." Ally trails off and looks down. "I don't want to believe any of these rumors but I can't help but think that they should be looked into."

I sigh. "I understand you're concern and I know how to put these rumors to rest." I give her a gentle smile. "Y/N has informed me herself that she is a convicted felon in her country."

"She is?" Ally appears shocked.

"Yes." I nod. "She was very honest about it once she became comfortable around the council and myself. However, those charges against her in her country are unfounded."

"... How do you know that they are?" Ally whispers, then jumps. "I'm sorry, sir! I don't mean to be rude but, have you heard the other side of the story."

I stop walking. She's right... I've only heard from Y/N about the conditions of Elemiras. I shake my head and continue walking, chuckling. But I have heard from Boocifer and what he saw and experienced. "You're correct, I haven't heard from both parties." I turn to Ally. "But I have heard from Boocifer about what he saw and his experiences."

"So you trust her?" Ally questions. 

"My, my. Quite the bold question." I chuckle as Ally pales. I feel my heart drop as I see the fear in her eyes. "I only jest." I say quickly. "And, no. I don't entirely trust her. I do, however trust her to help those who need it."

"I see." Ally nods as we make it to the small garden at the front of Gloomy Manor. "Thank you, Sire."

"For what?" 

"For putting my mind at ease."

I smile. "I'm glad that you are more relaxed." Ally give a small bow and hurries off, possibly to her family.

I let out a breath and enter Gloomy Manor with an air of calmness, only to be ambushed by my council. Everyone begins talking at once.

"Sire! We have news!"

"It's about Princess Peach!"

"And Professor Gadd!"

"There are rumors going around!"

"Please, everyone, calm down. One at a time, please." I panic slightly.

Boocifer is the first to speak up. "We've received a letter from Princess Peach while you were out, Your Majesty!" Boocifer's smile grows.

"That's wonderful!" My eyes light up. "Enlighten me, what does it say?"

Maya hands me the letter with a large smile on her face. I notice Henry being slightly held back by Louis behind her. I pull out the letter from the already opened envelope and unfold it.

Dear, King Boo,

You must understand that I was skeptical of your letter when it first arrived in the mail, so much so that I hesitated in reading it. For that, I must apologize for my rudeness and my tardiness. 

I send this letter in hope that your words were true. I hope that you have ended interactions with threats to the Mushroom Kingdom. I understand that that, in itself, is selfish. I only wish for my people to be safe.

If you would be so kind, I wish to meet with you tomorrow to discuss terms of a treaty between us. I have always wanted to see Evershade Valley and one of the Mansions. I hope that the meeting being in Gloomy Manor at around Nine in the morning is alright with you.

I have also been in contact with Prof. Elvin Gadd. He informed me that you also wish to meet with him about setting things right, so to speak. It would be anything but a waste of time to have both meetings at once. I will also spare you needing to make arrangements in ensuring my arrival. I plan on traveling via Pixelator into Prof. Gadd's bunker and meet with him, Mario, and Luigi. Both Prof. Gadd and myself will be accompanied by the Mario Brothers as 'guards' and so that they may also receive an apology.

I hope these terms are acceptable and I am excited to meet with you.

Sincerely, 

Princess Peach Toadstool

I read the letter over again, containing my disbelief. "I must admit, I wasn't positive that she would agree." 

"We must prepare!" Maya exclaims. "This manor is quite dusty and we can't have the Princess think that we don't clean." 

"We should also have some refreshments for them as well." Louis pipes up.

"Agreed." I nod, folding the letter and putting back in the envelope. "Maya, Louis? Would you two please see to the arrangements? I'm afraid I don't trust myself at the moment."

"We'll get right on it, Sire." Maya nods, taking Louis's arm. "To the kitchen!"

As they leave, Henry, now free of Louis's grip, rushes to Boocifer and I. Looking to Boocifer I can see that his mood is also souring. Knowing Henry, this will be another issue with Y/N, especially considering the rumors.

"Before you say anything, Henry," I cut him off before he can say anything. "I know about the rumors. Need I remind you that Y/N did confirm that she is a convict of her own dictated country?"

"I understand stand that, Sire." Henry looks down. "But Boos will-"

"Boos will trust my judgment." I cut him off. "As should you."

Neither Henry nor Boocifer dared to make a sound. Silence filled the hall as I turn and walk further into the mansion. As I'm walking away from Henry, I can feel my annoyance slightly disperse. As I take a deep breath to calm my nerves, I feel Boocifer come up behind me.

"Do you need something, my friend?" I turn to him with a smile.

"I was just curious on how Y/N's departure went." Boocifer replies.

"I'd say it went well. Everyone got to the mist safely and without any complications." I say, my eyebrow raised. "Snare did want to stay, being as there is no sunlight here but, there was nothing else." Snare wiggles a little 'hello' to him and Boocifer gives Snare a little wave back.

"Sire? You do consider me a friend, do you not?" 

"Of course I do! What kind of question is that?" I say, slightly taken aback.

"Then why not tell me the whole truth? I can assume that there weren't any problems for them, but what about you?" Boocifer flies in front of me and stops me in my tracks as we enter the main hall.

I sigh, a small smile touches my lips. "Nothing gets past you, does it?" My smile drops as I explain. "I met with Ally on my way back and she was the one to tell me about the rumors about Y/N." I start as we move through the manor. "I put her mind at ease but I can't shake the feeling that something might happen."

"To who?"

"Y/N." 

"What do you think might happen?" Boocifer asks after some hesitation.

"I'm not sure, but it can't be good." I sigh. "What I don't understand is why. I don't understand why something bad could happen to her. I don't understand why rumors are spreading. I don't understand why I feel butterflies every time I see her. I don't understand why I want to protect her so much. I don't understand why I don't want her to ever leave."

Boocifer pauses. "I don't have an answer for the first two 'whys'."

"And I don't expect you to." I say quickly. 

"But, if I may be so bold, have you considered love?" Boocifer trails off.

Love. Do I love Y/N? I stop dead in my tracks. I've barely known the girl for a few days, it can't be that. But... "I suppose there might be a possibility..." I say carefully. "But I can't be certain, it might just be a passing infatuation. It wouldn't be fair to her if I told her I loved her only to say that I don't in the future." I finish as Boocifer nods. Or, I might have just needed someone to mention love to realize it.


	23. Y/N

"He actually tried to pin that on me?" I ask in disbelief.

"Yes!" Boocifer cackles. "He wanted you gone just because of some silly rumor."

I laugh along with Boocifer while we snack on little cookies Boocifer brought with him. Looking over the garden from the balcony, I take a bite out of the cookie in my hand.

"So what did you do with Avery and Chief Potamalu yesterday?" Boocifer asks after catching me up.

"Well, the minute we got to their town, I grew them a new Angel's Lily as a thanks. I also told the Chief that if they ever needed a second Angel's Lily, they can just ask." I pause. "I also visited a few of the schools there and the hospitals to help anyway that I could. Then, Avery took me to the outdoor pool so that I could cool off while staying in the sunlight."

"And how was it?"

"Wonderful!" I exclaim. "The water was a little colder but the sun was also shinning as brightly as it possibly could. Yesterday was a perfect day to be in an outdoor pool. There were also some kids there and they really wanted to see me Waterbend."

"And you did?" Boocifer raises an eyebrow.

I nod excitedly. "You should have seen them! Their eyes just lit up like a Christmas tree at midnight!" I sigh. "They loved it and kept wanting me to drop a little bit of water on their heads. A few even asked me to teach them." I shake my head. "I'm pretty sure you can imagine their disappointment when I told them I couldn't."

"You seem to be very fond of children." Boocifer teases. "Do you plan on having kids?"

"Why?" I question him. "Is there something you want to tell me?" I tease.

"Oh hush!" Boocifer rolls his eyes as I laugh. "I have no interest in you that way. I just want to know more about you."

"Oh! You wound me! How can I ever recover from my broken heart?" That got Boocifer laughing along with me. "But in all seriousness, I haven't really thought about it." I continue after we calm down a little.

"It seems you have time to now." Boocifer suggest while I shrug.

"Meh." I sigh. "I have other things that I need to think of. Besides," I continue. "I don't even have a partner. Why would I think about having kids when I don't even have someone to have kids with?"

"There is a possibility for finding a partner here." Boocifer smirks.

"Really?" I ask, skeptically.

"Yes." Boocifer smiles, looking pleased with himself. "I know, for a fact, that there is someone is, at least, infatuated with you."

I feel a slight blush dust my face. "I really don't know how to respond to that." I laugh a little.

"Maybe... agree to a blind date?" Boocifer teases.

"Little bold, don't you think?" I laugh. "Alright, now I'm curious, who is this 'secret admirer' of mine?"

"That's not my secret to reveal." He smirks.

I sigh as I sit back into my chair, crossing my arms. "Cheeky Devil." I shake my head.

"I can tell you that you'll figure it out in a few days. At Haunted Towers." Boocifer hints.

"Why Haunted Towers?" I ask but Boocifer stays silent, a mischievous grin spreads across his face. "Fine, don't tell me." I sigh.

Boocifer starts cackling as another Boo floats from the garden to the balcony. "Boocifer, I have to inform you that it's almost nine o'clock."

Boocifer's cackling dies down as he turns to the Boo. "Thank you, Sebastian." Boocifer nods as Sebastian turns to leave. "I better get going, the King asked me to be part of a important meeting today."

"I hope things go well." I smile as I stand up. Snare crawls off my shoulder and stays on the table. I give him a small tickle as I turn to Boocifer.

"What are you going to do while I'm gone?" Boocifer teases.

"Get some peace and quiet?" I tease right back. "I'm going to go to the library. Catch up on world history, maybe." We both go back inside and leave the room. "Can you share any details on this meeting or is it confidential?"

"The King wants to set things right with the Mushroom Kingdom. He invited Princess Peach to discuss and apologize."

"I hope that the Princess will find it in her heart to forgive." I say as we continue to the main hall.

"As do I. But, I won't be surprised nor will I hold it against her if she declines our offers." Boocifer sighs and looks down in shame. "We Boos and Spirits have damaged our relationships with other Kingdoms in some of the worst ways possible."

I take my hand and pat my friend's head. "You can't keep looking to the past. Yes, some bad things happened, but that doesn't mean that you should keep beating yourself up about it." I smile to him as he looks up at me. "The past gives us learning opportunities, the present gives us time to use that knowledge."

"Thank you, Y/N." Boocifer smiles gently as I remove my hand. "It's greatly appreciated."

I give Boocifer my best toothy grin as we stop at the bottom of the stairs. Just as we're about to move to the door, we her a voice coming from a different door. The door leading to the suits of armor hall.

"Why is it always trap doors?!"

"I recognize that angry Italian accent." My eyes widen.

The double doors burst open and in storms the little red man from the lab. Behind him is his brother, that Professor, and a very regal woman.

This woman is about my hight with long, bright yellow hair. She's wearing a bright pink dress with white gloves and a light blue gem on the front of her dress. The dress has the little shoulder poofs and the neckline ends just above her collar bone. On her head, she's wearing a gold crown with a light blue gem in the center.

She must be Princess Peach. I think as she walks in. She has this presence of authority around her but she is wearing a gentle smile.

"Mario, please calm down." Luigi sighs. "Ms. Maya explained why that one went off."

"She also said that there won't be anymore and she apologized." Pricess Peach consoles Mario. She then looks around the room. "This Mansion is endearing in it's own way." She sighs, still smiling.

"Good morning, Your Highness." Boocifer floats up to Princess Peach and bows. "It is an honour to have you in our Kingdom."

"It's a pleasure to be here." The Princess nods to Boocifer. "I'm afraid I don't know your name."

"My name is Boocifer. I am the King's right hand Boo." Boocifer nods, a soft smile dances a cross his face.

"Well, Boocifer, it's a pleasure to meet you." The Princess gives a small curtsy.

While this entire exchange was going on, Luigi, Professor Gadd, and Mario are staring at me. Mario has a large frown on his face and anger seething from his features. Luigi and Gadd both seem confused but smile slightly as Luigi walks up to me.

"It's nice to see you again, Y/N. How's your back?" Luigi asks, concerned. "You look better but..."

"You're not sure if it's an act or not?" He nods. "Well, I'm doing much better thanks to you guys." I smile. "If you didn't patch me up, I don't think I would have made it." I say, turning to the Professor.

"You're very welcome, young lady." Professor Gadd smiles. "I'm glad to see that you seem much better."

"I have several questions about your condition." Mario states. "My biggest question being, how are you alive?"

"I got lucky enough to use an Angel's Lily." I shrug. "That's how."

"Oh, you must be Y/N!" The Princess turns to me. "I've heard quite a bit about you."

I bow to her with a smile on my face. "That would be me, Your Highness. It's a pleasure to meet you." I stand straight.

"I'm sorry to interrupt, but the King is waiting." Boocifer explains politely as Mario glares daggers at me.

"I hope this meeting goes well for all of you." I smile with a small bow to dismiss myself.

"Wait." Princess Peach takes my hand. "Please come with. I know that a few of us want some answers and I need another human woman there as some support." She looks down at that last bit, slightly ashamed.

"I don't have a problem with accompanying you, but what about everyone else?" I bow my head.

"I'm sure the King won't mind." Boocifer reassures us. "Come, let's go to the garden." He motions for us to follow him.

The Princess looks to me and smiles as I nod. Not letting go of my hand, Princess Peach excitedly leads me past Mario, Luigi, and Professor Gadd. Mario gives me a glare as I'm pulled in the direction of the door to the hall while Luigi and Prof. Gadd watch, amused. 

Walking through the hall, Princess Peach tries to make small talk with me. "I've heard that you're from Elemiras. What's it like there? I haven't been."

I panic slightly. "Elemiras isn't in the best shape right now... things have really gone to the wolves recently." I scratch my chin nervously. "We're having some political troubles at the moment."

"Well that's unfortunate to hear!" The Princess gasps. "I hope things work out in the end."

"I hope so as well." I agree.

Mario, being the curious cat he seems to be, speaks up. "Why didn't you tell us about it when you were in the bunker?" Mario glares.

"I was loosing blood and the only thought running through my head was to get to someone familiar." I reply. "I wasn't exactly in the best mind set."

"Can I ask something quickly..?" Luigi asks, shaking with every step. I nod. "Who is that friend you were looking for? Are they a werewolf?"

"No." I sigh. "That was, unfortunately, another lie." I rub the back of my neck as I start to explain. "Before you guys found me, I met Boocifer and we had our own little misadventures before coming to Evershade Valley." I see Boocifer smile at me as I continue. "When we got through the mist, we ran into another Boo named Ally. She told us that there were ghost hunters out looking for Boos because one escaped." 

"Ah, yes!" Professor Gadd jumps in. "King Boo escaped us and we were a little peeved seeing as it didn't take him long."

"Anyway..." I chuckle nervously. "I told Boocifer and Ally to go home and recover while I distracted you guys. I passed out soon afterword and then woke up in your... bunker, you said?" I question.

"Yes. I created a ghost proof bunker incase there were some wile spirits while I was researching." The Professor clarifies. "I didn't want anyone to get hurt." I nod in understanding.

"Still doesn't explain why-" Mario starts but I quickly cut him off.

"I was close enough to death that I could see the damn reaper, my body lost way too much blood to think straight, and I was terrified for my own and Boocifer's safety." I snap. "Those should be perfectly adequate reasons to why I lied and withheld information."

The hall is silent for some time until we reach the door to the garden. "Before we open the door," Princess Peach stops Boocifer and turns to me. "would you be so kind as to tell us what sort of complications you're facing back home."

I shake my head. "I don't want to sour a possible allegiance that has nothing to do with my country, I'm sorry." I bow my head. "Maybe later, after this meeting, I can tell you, Your Highness." 

"I understand, and I hope that we will have time to discuss things." She smiles.

The Princess nods to Boocifer and he opens the door for everyone, showing off the garden. When Princess Peach steps out onto the patio, she marvels at the scene, but it was the guys impression that got me the most. All of them seem incapable of comprehending what the are seeing at the moment.

"Is this some new illusion King Boo has set up?" The Professor questions as Boocifer and I snicker behind them. "And were is my statue?"

"You mean that God awful thing that didn't even match the colour scheme of the original, and dead, garden?" I raise a brow. "Yeah, we buried that thing. Also," I start my own line of questioning. "what kind of scientist puts a statue of himself in the garden of his controlled work space and then leaves the garden to die?"

"I see your point." The Professor laughs. "Not a good idea on my part, my apologies."

I smile as I see the King walk up to the stairs of the patio. "And to answer your first question, Professor," The King gestures to the garden. "this is not an illusion. All of this was possible thanks to Ms. L/N." He motions to me. I feel my cheeks burn at the amount of attention I'm getting. I give a small bow, not trusting myself to answer. "Now then, Your Highness," He turns to the Princess, offering a hand out to her. "Shall we start this meeting?" I feel a pinch of jealousy as she takes his hand, letting him guide her down the stairs and to a large table and some chairs.

"Yes, let's get things sorted out." Princess Peach nods. "But, I want to ask... May Y/N join us? Something about her puts my mind and heart at ease." She sighs, looking slightly embarrassed as she takes a seat at the table.

The King chuckles as he pushes her chair in. "I see no problem with that." He smiles kindly. "If I'm being honest, she has the same effect on me."

I smile hearing that as Boocifer snickers at me. "What are you? Five?" I whisper to him, rolling my eyes. Boocifer urges Mario, Luigi, and Professor Gadd to go sit down while I stand behind them. I ease his heart? Ugh! Why are you thinking like that L/N? Get your head in the game.

"My dear?" The King's voice shakes me out of my thoughts. Standing at the base of the stairs, King Boo is offering his hand out to me. "Would you join us?"

I smile with a slight blush dusting my face. "I would be honoured." I nod, taking his hand.

As we make our way to the table, a chair appears out of thin air to the left of, I assume, the King's spot. I assume this the because every other spot is taken. I take a seat as the King pushes in my chair for me. Thanking him, I turn to look at what's on the table. There are little scones and macaroons on a cupcake tower. Teacups and dessert plates have been place in front of every chair, including my own. It's almost as if someone knew that I would be joining them, I eye Boocifer and he gives me a devilish smirk, confirming my suspicions. 

"Shall we get started?" Boocifer asks the table and everyone nods in response.

As a scone and a macaroon floats up to everyone's plate, the King sits down and faces Princess Peach. "Allow me to start by saying that I am truly sorry for all the trouble I have caused you all." He bows his head as he continues. "I understand that my actions have caused harm to each and everyone of us at this table. I should have thought before making them and I hope that you will accept my deepest apologies."

"I do appreciate this gesture and your apology, King Boo." The Princess nods, a small smile on her face as she takes a small bite of a macaroon. "But I do have two questions I would like answered first." 

"I completely understand, Your Highness." King Boo's face morphs from shame to gratitude. "I'd be happy to answer them to the best of my abilities."

"Thank you. My first question is if you have proof of your separation from any and all of King Koopa's allies and himself." She questions.

"Yes, I have the proof right here." He motions for a Boo with a tray to come forward. The Boo floats up to Princess Peach and offers her the paper on the tray. Taking it, the Princess reads through the scroll, a large smile starts to grow on her face as the King continues. "That is a signed treaty of trade end. As you can see, it's signed by King Koopa and all his allies."

"Thank you, Your Majesty." The Princess sighs, clearly at ease. "That clears up my worries of this new treaty." She rolls the scroll back up and places it back on the tray and the Boo flies away. "Now, my second question is, out of curiosity, how have your actions affected Elemiras and the Elementals? You did say that all of us at this table has been affected." That peeked my interest as I turn to King Boo, wondering if and why he blames himself.

The King glances my way and sighs, a frown clear on his face. "I believe that, if it wasn't for me wanting petty vengeance, I would have noticed how long Boocifer and Boodini were missing for." I cock my head in confusion at this statement. "Maybe then I would have realized that the situation in Elemiras has gone to the wolves much sooner. I could have done something to help you and your people, Y/N. For that, I am sorry."

I'm stunned into silence for a moment, letting his words register. Then, "Please, don't apologize for something that you had no control over." I start watching his reaction. "What's happening in Elemiras has nothing to do with your past actions. You wouldn't have been able to stop what has been done." I look the King straight in his eyes as I say this last part. "None of it is your fault. It's our leader's. You have no obligation to Elementals or our own problems. And I mean that in the nicest way possible."

I feel the King reach under the table and squeeze my hand gratefully. But when I look into his eyes, all I can see is guilt. I can't stand seeing him like this... I sigh, swallowing the lump in my throat. His hand still in mine, I squeeze it, hoping he can tell that he doesn't need to feel guilty about this.

"I'm wondering what is going on in Elemiras." Professor Gadd questions me.

"Yes, would you please tell us now?" The Princess asks me. I look to the King as he smiles and gives my hand another squeeze.

"Where do I start?" I shake my head, not letting go of the King's hand. "I guess I'll start with saying that it all started with a dictatorship." So I retell the story of my country and my struggles. How I met Boocifer and our escape. And how I was hoping to meet the previous King of Elemiras, Adam, when I got here.

"That's a lot to take in." Luigi comments. "At least you're out of there now." Luigi gives me a soft smile. I can feel King Boo's hand tighten around mine as he watches. Is that jealousy I smell?

"Thanks, I'm pretty glad I'm out of there too." I smile, thanking him. I give the King a side glance and a knowing look. He just ignores it, looking slightly annoyed.

"I still don't belive it." Mario crosses his arms. "Elemiras couldn't have turned out that bad in a year." Mario sniffs like a spoiled brat.

"Try a century." I correct him, raising a brow.

Mario stares at me, wide eyed. "That's not possible..." He whispers. "That's not possible!" He repeats, shouting at me with rage in his eyes. "There is no way! I was visiting the Waterbenders a month ago. Things were wonderful."

"Y'know, I would have thought that someone who has been up against the Master of Illusions would know an illusion when they see it." I sigh, my grip on the Kings hand slip. "Let me guess, they brought you to a small town and showed you some of the Waterbending classes? Specifically the little ones and the Masters." I smirk seeing his face go from shock to anger. "Yeah, that's practiced in every town." I glare. I feel the King tighten his grip on my hand and I relax. "We're conditioned and taught the same trick when ever we have visitors. 'Can't risk loosing our trading partners.' That's what they always said."

"You were forced to act so visitors wouldn't suspect anything?" the Princess asks, baffled. I nod. "That's horrible!"

"I'm afraid to ask but," Luigi starts. "what would have happened if you refused? If you told people about the cruelty you face everyday?"

"First, the visitors will be told that the said Elemental just got out of a hospital after a brain injury and then... let's just say that the thirty lashes on my back was them being merciful." I respond with a hint of disgust.

"My dear?" The King grabs my attention. "What will you do to help your people once you've met with Adam?" Everone nods in agreement, all of them wanting to know.

"Find the lost heir, get people out, and finally make a place we can call home."


End file.
